
Colombia's president suggests Vatican could host new peace talks with rebel group
Petro's statement came after he attended an audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, which has not commented on the suggestion that it could host peace talks between Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a group with around 5,000 fighters that was founded in the late 1960s.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Bloomberg
20 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Ecuador in Spat With Colombia Over Deportation of Prisoners
Ecuador's decision to deport hundreds of Colombian prisoners has stoked the ire of its neighbor, prompting the countries to trade accusations over the weekend. Colombia's foreign ministry on Friday called Ecuador's decision to deport the inmates without prior agreement a violation of international law and an 'unfriendly gesture.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ecuador deports more than 800 Colombian inmates as Bogota cries foul
Ecuadoran authorities said Saturday they had deported more than 800 Colombian prisoners via a land border crossing, after Bogota protested that the move came without prior agreement. In 2024, Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa announced his intention to deport Colombian inmates to ease overcrowding in the country's prisons. Small groups were transferred starting in April. But Colombian President Gustavo Petro opposed the move, saying that a joint plan was needed to safeguard the prisoners' rights. More than 800 prisoners were deported through the Rumichaca border crossing in Carchi province, Governor Diana Pozo told reporters at the site. The inmates, wearing orange uniforms, waited in line to reenter their home country under the watchful eye of Ecuadoran police and military personnel. Early in the day, some in shorts and t-shirts did exercises while waiting for their turn to cross the border in the chilly Andean air, saying "We want to cross, we want to cross." On Friday, the government in Bogota lodged a formal complaint with Quito, saying such a move without prior agreement was a violation of international law and an "unfriendly gesture." A source in the Carchi governor's office who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the mass deportation began on Friday, and the 870 inmates slated for expulsion represented about 60 percent of all Colombians in Ecuador's prisons. Juan Morales, an official in the Colombian town of Ipiales, said that authorities had to scramble to handle the influx of people, because Ecuador had not informed them of the deportations. Ecuador's foreign ministry said Saturday that Bogota was told about the plan on July 8. The mayor of the border town of Ipiales, Amilcar Pantoja, told the media on Friday that prisoners without pending legal cases in Colombia would be released. Drug trafficking gangs operating in Ecuador -- some involving Colombian criminals -- have turned the country into one of the most violent in Latin America. The homicide rate has jumped from six per 100,000 people in 2018 to 38 in 2024, among the highest in the region. sp/sst/ksb


CNN
a day ago
- CNN
Venezuelan baseball team denied visas into US, Little League International says
A Venezuelan baseball team was denied visas into the United States and will miss this year's Senior Baseball World Series, Little League International confirmed Friday. The Cacique Mara team, from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was scheduled to participate in the tournament after winning the Latin American championship in Mexico. 'The Cacique Mara Little League team from Venezuela was unfortunately unable to obtain the appropriate visas to travel to the Senior League Baseball World Series,' Little League International said in a statement, adding that it is 'extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes.' The Venezuelan team traveled to Colombia two weeks ago to apply for their visas at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá. The embassy did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment. 'It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,' the team said in a statement. 'What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?' Venezuela is among a list of countries with restrictions for entering the U.S. or its territories. President Donald Trump has banned travel to the U.S. from 12 other countries, citing national security concerns. Earlier in the month, the Cuban women's volleyball team was denied visas to participate in a tournament in Puerto Rico. 'They told us that Venezuela is on a list because Trump says Venezuelans are a threat to the security of his state, of his country,' said Kendrick Gutiérrez, the league's president in Venezuela. 'It hasn't been easy the situation; we earned the right to represent Latin America in the World Championship.' The Senior League Baseball World Series, a tournament for players aged 13-16, is played each year in Easley, South Carolina. It begins Saturday. The tournament organizers replaced the Venezuelans with the Santa Maria de Aguayo team from Tamaulipas, Mexico, the team that was a runner-up in the Latin American championship. 'I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn't end this way. They're going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed; it's not fair,' Gutiérrez added. 'I don't understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.'