Bogota

Colombia ships 50 tonnes of holiday ham

Bogota - Emiratesvoice

Colombia has shipped around 50 tonnes (55 tons) of ham to Venezuela after protests broke out over shortages of the traditional holiday staple, an official said Saturday. The first two trucks of ham arrived in Venezuela on Friday night, a source from Colombia’s national tax and customs office told AFP. On Saturday, there were “two other trucks ready to go,”Read more

Colombia's FARC fields ex-rebel chief

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Colombia's FARC -- a political party formed from a former rebel group following a historic peace deal -- said Wednesday it was fielding its leader as a candidate in next year's presidential election. Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre 'Timochenko,' will be the party's choice for the polls, the first round of which is to take placeRead more

Pope urges Colombia to avoid 'vengeance' in peace drive

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Pope Francis urged Colombians on Wednesday to avoid seeking "vengeance" for the sufferings of their country's civil conflict as they work towards a lasting peace. In a speech in Bogota, Francis called for determination to "flee from the temptation to vengeance and the satisfaction of short-term partisan interests."Read more

Pope Francis lands in Colombia to support peace

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Pope Francis landed in Colombia on Wednesday to support the country's peace process as it works to emerge from half a century of civil conflict. The 80-year-old Argentine pontiff, who is making a five-day visit, descended the steps of his plane at a military airport in Bogota and shook hands with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.Read more

Main Colombia narco gang ready to surrender

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Colombia's most powerful drug trafficking gang is ready to turn itself in to authorities, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Tuesday. Santos said his government met with the head of the Gulf Clan on Sunday, who had made clear he was ready "to submit to justice with all of his men."Read more

Colombia FARC rebels reborn as 'revolutionary force' party

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Colombia's FARC former guerrilla force announced Thursday that it has named its new party the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, as it enters the political sphere following its disarmament. "By a majority decision in our congress, the name of the new party has been fixed as the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force," the group's leader Rodrigo Londono wrote on Twitter.Read more

Colombia declares conflict with FARC over

Bogota - Emirates Voice

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country's 50-year conflict with the FARC guerrilla group "truly over" Tuesday, with the disarming of the rebel group complete. The UN-supervised process concluded with the delivery of the last truckloads of weapons from areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began demobilizing at the start of the year. "With the layingRead more