A six-month ceasefire between Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) began today, and could pave the way for a permanent truce. The cease-fire applies to combat between the E.L.N. and the state, but allows the group to defend itself if it is attacked.
It is “the longest halt to hostilities the group has agreed to and a milestone in efforts to end the country’s 60-year internal conflict, which has killed roughly 450,000 people,” reports the New York Times.
The agreement “comes amid skepticism among some Colombians that the peace process can fully end an insurgency dating back to the 1960s or halt the alleged involvement of the group’s estimated 5,000 remaining members in drug trafficking,” reports the Associated Press.
A newly created entity made up of the officials from the Colombian military and government, the United Nations and religious groups will monitor the enforcement of the new agreement.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously authorized the U.N. political mission in Colombia to help verify implementation of the cease-fire agreement, yesterday, reports the Associated Press. Colombia’s government asked the council to extend the verification mandate of the U.N. mission, which has been monitoring a 2016 peace accord between the government and the FARC.
It is the most solid progress so far for Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s ambitious plans for “total peace,” reports Reuters.
Negotiations with the ELN, the country’s largest remaining guerrilla group, have advanced further than Petro’s efforts to end conflict with other armed groups in Colombia. The government called off a ceasefire with criminal organization the Clan del Golfo - also known as the Gaitanista Self-defense Force of Colombia (AGC) - in March over the group's alleged involvement in violent protests by informal miners.
Brazil
At least 45 people have been killed in a string of police operations across three Brazilian states — the numbers are striking, even in the context of a country notorious for police violence, reports the Guardian.
The deaths have sparked concerns over police violence, as law enforcement officials step up operations against gangs, reports the Washington Post. Police fatally shot 6,430 people across the country in 2022, according to the 2023 Brazil’s Annual Directory of Public Security.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by at least 60% in July compared to the same month last year, according to environment minister Marina Silva. The rapid progress highlights the importance of political change, reports the Guardian.
The news comes ahead of an upcoming Amazon summit hosted by Brazil, designed to strengthen regional cooperation, with the participation of seven other rainforest nations: Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. (Guardian)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that next week's summit of Amazon region nations will seek to draw up a common policy for the first time to protect the rainforest, reports Reuters.
Amazon
A new in-depth investigation by 37 journalists maps the Amazon’s criminal ecosystem, delving into the forces that drive the protagonists of the Amazon Underworld to engage in illicit activities that have a devastating impact on Amazonian communities and the environment. Amazon Underworld includes a database and map of armed groups on international Amazonian borders, and a series of in-depth reports.
“Reforestation schemes depend on a stable regulatory environment,” writes Guardian reporter Jonathan Watts, in a column on his personal experience on a small-scale reforestation scheme.
El País profiles a scheme in Colombia’s Guainía region, where an Indigenous community replaced coca crops with honey cultivation.
Guatemala
Guatemalan anti-corruption presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo is projected to win a Aug. 20 runoff election with 63% of valid votes against his rival, Sandra Torres, according to a CID Gallup poll published yesterday. (Reuters)
Migration
Two United Nations agencies called for urgent international action in the Darién Gap to avoid a humanitarian crisis. The call from the UNHCR and the IOM came as new figures showed that record numbers of people are risking their lives to cross the dangerous stretch of rainforest between Colombia and Panama, reports the Guardian.
A body was found stuck in a floating barrier installed by Texas state authorities in the Rio Grande river on the U.S. border, prompting both Mexico and the United States to reiterate humanitarian and safety concerns regarding the barrier, reports the Guardian.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said his government may provide labor-training programs for migrants to work on infrastructure projects in the southern part of the country. (Bloomberg)
Mexico
Mexico is having it’s own birther movement, with presidential pre-candidate Claudia Sheinbaum combatting rumors that she was born in Bulgaria. “They’re a backhanded way of reminding this largely Catholic country of her Jewish heritage,” reports the Washington Post.
Regional Relations
U.S. lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a group of fellow progressive Democrats are heading to South America to meet with officials and civil society groups in the region’s three largest leftist-ruled democracies: Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The trip is a challenge to the Biden administration’s foreign policy in the region, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Ecuador
Ecuador's economy ministry said that the Inter-American Development Bank approved a $500 million to the country, which would support government social projects. (Reuters)