In Colombia, Land Mines Are Cleared, Inch by Inch William Neuman, New York Times 20 April 2015   COCORNÁ, Colombia — Luvin Mejía kneels on the ground, wearing a heavy Kevlar vest and pants, a thick clear plastic shield over his face. It can take him an hour to move forward a single foot as he delicately clears brush from a long-abandoned mountain trail and passes a metal detector over each spot, the device’s high-pitched whine mixing with

Gangs Can't Stop Colombia's Butterflies From Rescuing Women In Need By Rich Preston, NPR 9 October 2014 They call themselves "the Butterflies." And that's not just wishful thinking. When Gloria Amparo, Maritza Asprilla Cruz and Mery Medina sweep into NPR's bureau in central London, they are indeed as beautiful as butterflies: bright clothing, big beaming smiles. They look around in wonder at the newsroom spread out before them, laughing and joking

Colombian activists risk their lives to protect women from gang warfare By Clar Ni Chonghaile, The Guardian 8 October 2014 Gloria Amparo lives every minute of her life with the knowledge that the gangsters who hold Colombia’s Pacific coastal region in thrall could kill her because she helps the women they have raped, the mothers whose sons they have chopped up, or the families they have displaced and tormented. But it is not death that Amparo fears,

In Colombian city, aid group seeks to give displaced women new wings By Chris Kraul  26 September 2014 Mery Medina has taken on a role in this hyper-violent port city that the Colombian government has been unable to fill: sheltering and counseling women threatened with forced displacement. There is no shortage of women needing help from Medina and her group, called Butterflies With New Wings. Colombia has one of the world's largest forcibly displaced

Colombia's war victims ask country to support peace talks By Daniel Trotta, Reuters 16 August 2014 (Reuters) - Victims of Colombia's 50-year-old war pleaded with peace negotiators to reach a deal and said they were willing to forgive heinous acts of cruelty, urging Colombians to unite behind the effort to end the bloodshed. Twelve victims from all sides in the Colombian conflict addressed peace negotiators in Havana on Saturday, marking the first

Colombia court bars rebels guilty of atrocities from public office By Reuters   August 6, 2014   A Colombian high court ruled on Wednesday that Marxist rebels found guilty of atrocious war crimes cannot hold public office, a decision that may block some FARC leaders from entering politics and complicate negotiations to end five decades of war. The ruling by the constitutional court throws into doubt agreements reached between the government

Colombia election clears way for peace talks with rebels  By Alan Gomez, USA Today  June 16, 2014  After making the controversial decision to open formal peace negotiations with the rebel group that has been waging a war in Colombia for 50 years, President Juan Manuel Santos was re-elected in an narrow runoff over the weekend that many viewed as a national referendum on those peace talks. Now comes the hard part. The negotiations between Colombia's

By Genocide Watch Stage 6: Preparation 3 August 2012 (Para leer en español) Colombia has been a very unstable country since its independence, 20 July 1810.  Tensions in Colombia have arisen because of the polarization between political parties, its large income distribution inequality and its long history of violence.  Since 1980 violence has increased, the drug cartels have corrupted law enforcement, and the Communist FARC rebels have taken over

Former Colombia leader pans peace talks with rebels April 14 2013 AFP SANTIAGO — Colombia's former leader Alvaro Uribe had harsh criticism Saturday for current President Juan Manuel Santos's peace overtures to leftist rebels, whom he likened to infamous drug kingpins. In an interview published Saturday in Chile's El Mercurio daily, Uribe compared the crimes of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) with the worst acts committed by notorious