Hundreds of Colombians have recently enlisted in Ukraine’s military, as it tries to replenish its forces after months of heavy losses on the frontlines. But many are not going for ideological reasons.
A six-month ceasefire between the Colombian government and the rebel group known as the National Liberation Army began this month. Support for the truce, and ongoing peace talks, could depend on whether the group ceases attacks on civilians that include kidnappings and extortion.
Colombia’s president awarded medals to members of the search party that found the four Indigenous children in one of the world’s toughest terrains.
In El Salvador, thousands of people have been imprisoned over the past 15 months, including dozens of international visitors, as the government tries to stop gang violence through a law known as the “state of exception.”
Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into what happened when Colombia’s military took on police work in Cali, the country’s third-largest city.
The people who collect garbage for recycling organized among themselves to change how they are paid and how they are treated. Today, waste pickers are officially recognized as part of the municipal waste system.
The US government changed the rules governing how people can seek asylum at the US-Mexico border last week, as a pandemic-era policy called Title 42 expired. Although it may become more difficult, thousands of people are still making their way from South America to the US border, including migrants from all over the world. Some are making their way through the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle that separates Colombia and Panama.
In the small village of Capurgana, at the entrance to the Darién jungle and near Colombia’s border with Panama, hundreds of villagers now work as guides and porters leading migrants across the rainforest.
In Capurgana, a small town on the southern edge of the Darién Gap in Colombia, about 300 people are arriving each day to make the grueling trek across the jungle, which lasts three to four days.
Bogotá is trying to curb sexual harassment against women on public transportation systems. It’s trained more than 500 police officers as part of the purple patrol to respond to cases of gender-based violence. Female police officers also hand out leaflets with information about hotlines that women can call for assistance.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in airports in Colombia and several other Latin American countries this week following the collapse of the budget airline, Viva Air. It's the latest airline company to fold amid decreasing passenger demand and higher oil prices.