Columbia has recently held elections for their congress members and also begun primaries for their upcoming presidential election. As was discussed in a previous post, this suite of elections is the first to include the political party FARC, which originated as a rebel group in the Columbian Civil War. Due to the FARC’s former role killing hundreds of thousands in… Read more »
Cuban President Raul Castro is set to step down next month. He has been in power since his brother and Revolutionary Fidel did the same in 2006 due to health issues. Adding to his, for the first time in nearly 60 years, the Cuban people will be able to vote for a new National Assembly. What is even more important,… Read more »
http://www.france24.com/en/20180312-cuba-vote-election-raul-castro-era-nears-end Cubans voted Sunday to ratify a new National Assembly, a key step in a process leading to the elevation of a new president, the first in nearly 60 years from outside the Castro family. The new members of the National Assembly will be tasked with choosing a successor to 86-year-old President Raul Castro when he steps down next month…. Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/americas/colombia-farc-leader-presidential-bid/index.html (CNN)Former FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño’s short-lived bid for the Colombian presidency has ended because of health issues, the onetime guerrilla group announced Thursday. Known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, Londoño led the country’s most powerful guerrilla force, FARC, throughout lengthy peace negotiations with the government and later declared himself the first presidential candidate in the group’s transition… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/03/americas/honduras-berta-caceres-suspect-arrest/index.html (CNN)A hydroelectric executive was arrested Friday and accused of helping to plan the murder of Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres two years ago, the country’s prosecutors said. Roberto David Castillo Mejía, executive president of Desarrollos Energéticos Sociedad Anónima (DESA), was detained Friday at the Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in the Honduran capital as he was trying to flee… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/americas/colombia-soldier-killed-explosion/index.html (CNN)Five Colombian soldiers were killed and 10 others were wounded Tuesday in an explosion, a statement from the army said. The army called the explosion an act of terrorism and blamed rebels. The statement said the incident took place in Norte de Santander, a northeastern region of the country bordering Venezuela, while troops were involved in tactical… Read more »
Indigenous Yukpa face humanitarian crisis after fleeing Venezuela – Al Jazeera Cucuta, Colombia – A pink stroller is surrounded by rubbish where children covered in dirt linger around a makeshift camp under a bridge in Colombia’s Cucuta. The anesthetised gaze in the children’s eyes reflects their precarious health situation which worsens by the week. They are sheltering from the scorching… Read more »
A woman has been released from prison in El Salvador after serving 15 years of a 30-year sentence for committing an abortion, which she said was a miscarriage. Maira Veronica Figueroa Marroquin was sentenced in 2003 on aggravated murder charges but saw the rest of her sentence commuted by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Marroquin maintained the death of her baby… Read more »
Colombia: Why did the FARC ‘fail’ its first electoral test? – Al Jazeera While millions went to the polls on Sunday to vote in Colombia’s congressional elections, it was the image of one individual in particular that captured local headlines. A formally-dressed man voting in a nearly empty public hall, Ivan Marquez would not have grabbed much attention were it not… Read more »
Colombia: FARC performs poorly in first electoral test – Al Jazeera Colombia’s conservative parties came out ahead in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, but failed to get a majority in a landmark vote that saw the participation of the former leftist group, now a political party, for the first time. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, right-wing parties received… Read more »