The Secretariat of the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia reported that the choice of "Timochenko", whose real name is Rodrigo Londoño, was by unanimous decision. "Is warranted so the continuity of the Strategic Plan for the seizure of power for the people", indicates, also, the communiqué disclosed Tuesday. 52-Year-old "Timochenko", known in the rebel ranks as Timoleón Jiménez, served as head of the Magdalena Medio bloc, which...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- President Juan Manuel Santos has reiterated during a visit by the Palestinian leader that Colombia will only recognize a Palestinian state that has been established through negotiations with Israel. Colombia's has a vote on the U.N. Security Council, which is considering the Palestinian bid for statehood. Santos hasn't said whether Colombia will abstain or vote "no." The U.S. has threatened to veto the statehood appeal. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives for an unofficial visit to to seek support for his people's bid to be recognized a state by the United Nations. The trip to Colombia is one of a series of trips to U.N. members who are not in favor of granting the Palestinians a state through the U.N. Colombia, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has so far refused to recognize a Palestinian state in line with its traditional allies the U.S. and Israel. When speaking before the...

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al Malki said Thursday that he would soon visit Bosnia, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas would visit Colombia and Portugal in October, as part of efforts to secure the necessary nine votes in the UN Security Council to pass a resolution recognizing a Palestinian state as a full member in the world body, The Telegraph reported. Bosnia, Colombia and Portugal are three of the 15 nations currently sitting on the UN Security Council that must make a...

Admiral Edgar Cely, the commander of Colombia's Military Forces, disclosed on Monday that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continue in Venezuelan territory, as denounced in mid 2010 by the government of then Colombian President Álvaro Uribe. "In very concrete, fast terms, yes," Cely answered when queried by Bogotá's TV channel Caracol about the deployment of FARC members in Venezuelan territory, AFP quoted. Source:

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reported on Wednesday that Venezuelan forces had captured Guillermo Enrique Torres, aka "Julián Conrado," a guerrilla leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who was also known as the FARC's singer. Santos said that the arrest was made on Monday in a Venezuelan government operation, with the help of Colombian authorities, Efe reported. Conrado was also known in the ranks of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of...

A former deputy director of Colombia's intelligence agency DAS ordered the assassination of a leftist politician by paramilitaries, the Prosecutor General's Office said Tuesday. According to prosecutors, there is enough evidence that prove the responsibility of Jose Miguel Narvaez in the murder of the prominent Union Patriotica politician. Narvaez, already in jail for his responsibility in the illegal wiretapping of political opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe, has been accused by...

The government of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe used selected computer files of Raúl Reyes, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) killed on March 1, 2008 in Ecuador, to harm his counterparts Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, according to US diplomatic cables leaked by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The US Embassy in Bogotá followed every Colombian government's step, as shown by the cables sent to...

A 20-year statute of limitations will apply from this weekend to any criminal prosecution for the 1991 murders of El Espectador reporters Julio Daniel Chaparro and Jorge Enrique Torres, yet again highlighting the problem of impunity in Colombia. Chaparro and Torres were murdered on 24 April 1991 while investigating the impact of a 1988 paramilitary massacre in Segovia, in the northwestern department of Antioquia. Although 20 years have gone by, the investigation being conducted by the Human...

Peasant, trade union and indigenous groups and affiliated news media are designated as “permanent military targets” in three leaflets apparently issued by paramilitary groups - the Black Eagles, “Rastrojos” and United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) - that have been circulating in the southwestern city of Popayán and the surrounding Cauca region since late February. The latest leaflet, dated late March and signed by the AUC’s central column, names 11...