Colombian President Gustavo Petro has condemned U.S. military operations against vessels in the Caribbean, which have resulted in dozens of deaths and heightened tensions in the region.
Petro described the U.S. actions as extrajudicial executions and a violation of international humanitarian law, even if those on board the vessels were carrying narcotics.
Elected in 2022 as Colombia’s first left-wing president, Petro was previously a member of the M-19 guerrilla group, later serving as a congressman and Mayor of Bogotá. Since taking office, he has revitalised diplomatic relations with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and strengthened ties with other regional left-leaning leaders, including Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chile’s Gabriel Boric, and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum.
U.S. sanctions
On Friday, 24 October, the U.S. imposed sanctions on President Petro, accusing him of failing to halt the flow of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has reached the highest level in decades, flooding the U.S. and harming Americans.”
Petro responded on X , stating that he has fought drug trafficking for decades and that the sanctions will not force him to step back.
The sanctions also target Petro’s wife, son, and Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti. Last weekend, former President Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Colombia and announced that all U.S. funding to the country had been suspended.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace d...
Iranian officials have criticised ceasefire violations by Isreal and U.S., citing Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon...
At least four people died after a small dinghy carrying migrants to Britain sank in the English Channel, French authorities announced on Thursday....
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday declined to block the Pentagon’s nation...
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the ...
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
Iranian officials have criticised ceasefire violations by Isreal and U.S., citing Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon on Wednesday (8 April), an intrusion of a military drone, and a U.S. denial of Tehran’s right of nuclear enrichment, on the first day of the two-week ceasefire on Wednesday.
At least four people died after a small dinghy carrying migrants to Britain sank in the English Channel, French authorities announced on Thursday.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday aimed at coordinating defensive efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving no agreed international framework for securing the vital route.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had stopped firing on northern Israel and Israeli forces on Wednesday as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East brokered between the United States and Iran. However, a Hezbollah lawmaker warned that the pause could collapse if Tel Aviv does not adhere to it.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week ceasefire covering all areas, but Israel says the deal excludes Lebanon. Tel Aviv says the U.S. is committed to achieving shared goals in upcoming negotiations.
Recent U.S. complaints about NATO allies and threats to quit the alliance are pushing European countries to seek alternative security arrangements, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.
Construction has begun on a major new solar power project in Xizang, as China continues to expand its renewable energy capacity and push towards a greener future.
At least four people died after a small dinghy carrying migrants to Britain sank in the English Channel, French authorities announced on Thursday.
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday declined to block the Pentagon’s national security blacklisting of Anthropic for now, handing a win to the Trump administration after a separate appeals court reached the opposite conclusion.
North Korea has tested a new cluster-bomb warhead mounted on a tactical ballistic missile, alongside advanced electromagnetic and infrastructure-targeting weapons, in a significant escalation of its military capabilities.
A barrage of Russian drones targeted and damaged a critical power substation in Ukraine's southern Odesa region on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials confirmed.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 9 April, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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