Sección International, Semana.com

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Colombia in the world

BBC NewsNov 5--With precise intelligence, apparently impeccable timing and serious firepower, rebels from Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) were able to spring one of their top leaders from prison last month.

TIME

My Father, the Drug Lord: Pablo Escobar's Son Speaks

Nov 5--While on the phone with his son 16 years ago, Pablo Escobar stayed on the line just long enough for Colombian police to trace the call. Minutes later, the world's most violent and notorious drug lord was gunned down on a Medellín rooftop. Fearing for their lives, Escobar's wife, son and daughter sought safety in exile, but most nations shut their doors. After stopovers in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and Mozambique — a whirlwind on par with the deposed Shah of Iran's desperate 1979 world tour — the widow and her children finally entered Argentina as tourists on Christmas Eve 1994. They've lived relatively quiet lives in Buenos Aires ever since.

FOX News

Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Home Now a Theme Park

Nov 5-- One man brought Colombia to its knees a generation ago, bombing cities, killing presidential candidates, putting a bounty on policemen.

TIME

Venezuela vs. Colombia: The Battle Over Emigres

Nov 5--Fredys Villanueva has abandoned his native Colombia for neighboring Venezuela. But he's not quite like the hundreds of thousands of Colombians who have fled their country's bloody 44-year long civil war for the safety of the land of Hugo Chávez. Instead, he's like 2 million or more Colombians who have moved to Venezuela because it offers greater employment opportunities and a more secure social safety network. Perched on a sofa on the porch of his home in El Aguacate, a barrio outside Caracas, Villanueva is more than happy to be caught in the ideological wrestling match between South America's most polarizing rivals: leftist Chávez and conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

Los Angeles Times

Imagine: L.A. bicyclists in the driver's seat, one day a week

Nov 5--A group called cicLAvia wants to close major L.A. thoroughfares to cars and open them to bicyclists on Sundays. City officials are looking for ways to support the plan, which originated in Colombia.

The Baltimore Sun

In Latin America, weapons buying spreads mistrust

Nov 5--Whether it's called an "arms race" or a "coincidental modernization" of existing stocks, a wave of weapons purchases by Latin American nations is causing neighbors to watch each other with growing mistrust and fear.

Latin American Herald Tribune

Army Kills 7 FARC Guerrillas in Colombia

Nov 3--Army troops killed seven suspected Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrillas and wounded three others in the southern province of Guaviare over the weekend, the Armed Forces General Command said.

The Examiner

Parts of Colombia-Venezuela border closed after checkpoint attack

Nov 3--Two cross-border bridges that connect Colombia and Venezuela were closed last night after masked gunmen attacked a border checkpoint yesterday.

TIME

Why Colombia's Leftist Guerrillas Are Defecting

Oct 30--At a ramshackle radio station nestled in former guerrilla territory, a Colombian soldier-DJ dedicates a country-and-western-style ballad to all the rebels out there having second thoughts about la revolución. In the song, a former guerrilla touts the benefits of disarming. "My life has changed," he declares. "Now I've got a girlfriend. I'm with my family. I give thanks to God."

The Examiner

Colombian Defense Minister wraps up U.S. visit at Southern Command

Oct 30--Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva visited U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters in Miami today, where he met with the SOUTHCOM commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, and other command leaders.

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Militias march again

The “justice and peace” process the Colombian government offered to right-wing paramilitaries is at risk of falling apart--The Economist

HEADLINES

2010 Iberoamerican Theatre Festival Announced Today

Tuesday 6 October 4:00PM

Colombia Improves standing in Human Development Index

Monday 5 October 4:00PM

Goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba returns to Colombia's national soccer team

Monday 5 October 3:00PM

"Re-election will weaken the rule of law": Colombian Students at Harvard

Monday 28 September 2:00PM

Opposition Primaries: VIctory for Rafael Pardo and Gustavo Petro

Monday 28 September 10:00AM

Silvia Tcherrasi presents collection in Puerto Rico

Friday 25 September 12:00PM

Colombian Exhibition in Shanghai

Wednesday 23 September 10:00AM

Colombia and Ecuador to meet at UN Assembly

Tuesday 22 September 9:00AM

Solana not in favor of Uribe's Third Term

Monday 21 September 12:00PM

Shakira honored by UNICEF

Monday 21 September 10:00AM

President Uribe in favor of eliminating Intelligence Agency

Friday 18 September 11:00AM

Colombian Government will lower tariffs for AH1NI Medical Equipment

Wednesday 16 September 12:00PM

110 million tons of coal discovered in La Guajira

Tuesday 15 September 11:00AM

Colombian Minister of Defense: "We are not a threat"

Tuesday 15 September 10:00AM

Onslaught!

SCANDALVice-president Francisco Santos may sometimes go out of line, but to categorize him as a paramilitary-politician, like Salvatore Mancuso pretends, is somewhat absurd.

A stumbling block

FOREIGN RELATIONSThe honey moon between Quito and Bogotá has been suddenly interrupted as an Ecuadorian prosecutor ordered the extradition of the Colombian army general Freddy Padilla. Will Ecuador stop such action?

Bogotá 2015

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XVII Pan American Games Bogotá goes all out to host the XVII Pan American Games. This is the promotional video.

Multimedia /Bogota: Building a Sustainable City (III)

Multimedia /Bogota: Building a Sustainable City (II)

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My Father's Sins

RECONCILIATIONPablo Escobar’s son asked the children of Luis Carlos Galán and Rodrigo Lara—both politicians murdered by his father—for forgiveness. We reveal details about this historic reunion.

SPECIAL REPORT: COLOMBIA 2009

FINANCIAL TIMESThe Financial Times created a special report on Colombia. It includes in depth articles about Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe, the security situation, and the country's most important industries. Here are some of the articles.

International Green light for Colombia to discuss FTA with the EU

ZONA COMERCIAL