Colombia paramilitary successors embark on cop-killing spree in Antioquia

written by Stephen Gill November 23, 2016

The northwestern Colombia province of Antioquia raised its state of alert to orange after paramilitary successor group AGC, a.k.a. “Los Urabeños,” allegedly assassinated four policemen in one week, mainly around province capital Medellin.

The group called the “Gulf Clan” by the authorities is responsible for the hit-and-run murders carried out while the group’s leadership is calling for inclusion in a peace process with their traditional arch enemies, the Marxist FARC guerrilla group, according to Antioquia’s top public security official.

“It is clear to the authorities and everyone that the Gulf Clan is behind these acts,” the top official said in a statement.

Calling themselves the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, the paramilitary heir has previously targeted policemen and at one point even offered a reward for every killed policeman, something not seen since slain drug lord Pablo Escobar reigned over Antioquia in the 1980s and 1990s.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-paramilitary-successors-embark-cop-killing-spree-antioquia/

Please, meet Colombia’s community leaders who were either assassinated or attacked this month

written by David Maas November 23, 2016

A surge in attacks on community leaders and human rights defenders that followed the sinking of Colombia’s peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels is leaving a new generation of widows and orphans.

Just this past weekend, three social leaders were killed and two gravely injured in attacks carried out by paramilitary-like forces, adding to several deaths earlier this month.

President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the killings and called a meeting of a high-level human rights commission “to take actions against the crimes and aggression against social leaders. Peace does not wait.”

In the meantime, the violence is targeting mainly social leaders who have nothing to do with the armed conflict.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/please-meet-colombias-community-leaders-either-assassinated-attacked-month/

‘Paramilitary successors moving reinforcements to central Colombia’: Military

written by Adriaan Alsema November 21, 2016


Colombia’s largest paramilitary successor group, the AGC, a.k.a. “Los Urabeños,” are moving troops to central Colombia to reinforce their presence in former FARC territory, according to the military.

The Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) originate from the northwestern Uraba region, but have since their foundation in 2008 made major territorial advances, mainly at the cost of their rivals in the drug trafficking business, neo-cartel “Los Rastrojos,” and guerrilla groups FARC and ELN.

Some 22 alleged AGC members were arrested on Monday while trying to join fellow-paramilitaries in what the military considers an attempt to solidify the group’s control over coca cultivation fields in the Meta and Guaviare provinces that have been abandoned by the FARC, which is in the process of demobilizing.

. . .

In spite of massive military operations, the paramilitary successor group knew to grew from 250 members in 2008 to “between 2,400 and 2,700” this year, according to the National Police.

http://colombiareports.com/paramilitary-successors-moving-reinforcements-central-colombia-military/

(These right-wing, ultra-violent, vicious, filthy dirtbags pretended to demobilize, then reconfigured their groups under new names, but they remain the same military-connected narcotrafficking assassins and torturers.)

Archeologists Have a Huge New Stonehenge to Figure Out
November 17, 2016
by Robby Berman



Monumental mystery (EVGENII BOGDANOV)


Archeologists have a new mystery to solve in Kazakhstan, a complex of stone structures reminiscent of Stonehenge but much bigger. The site is the size of 200 American football fields, about 300 acres. It was discovered in 2010 by a man identified as F. Akhmadulin, who was exploring the sagebrush desert area in Altÿnkazgan on the Mangÿshlak Peninsula along the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea with a metal detector.



Altÿnkazgan (EVGENII BOGDANOV)

Akhmadulin came across a piece of an ancient silver saddle and some other bits inside some stones. He brought his find to archaeologist Andrey Astafiev, of the Mangistaus State Historical and Cultural Reserve.



Saddle fragment (ANDREY E. ASTAFIEV & EVGENIÏ S. BOGDANOV)

When Astafiev and Evgeniï Bogdanov, of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Department's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, visited the area to which Akhmadulin had pointed them, it was easy to see that there was something here worthy of investigation.



Visible indicators (LIVE SCIENCE)

Excavation would have to wait, however, according to the scientists’ published research: “Unfortunately, the socioeconomic situation in the region is not one in which it is easy to engage in archaeological research, and it was not until 2014 that the authors of this article were able to excavate certain features within the site.”


More:
http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/archeologists-have-a-huge-new-stonehenge-to-figure-out

Colombian Campesino Land Defender Assassinated
Published 19 November 2016



Monroy Fierro had focused protest efforts on trying to protect the local environment and highlight the damage caused by oil projects.

Erley Monroy Fierro, director of Ascal-G, one of the most important campesino associations in the eastern amazonian region, was assassinated on Friday.

According to the Foundation for the Defense of Human Rights, Monroy Fierro died in the hospital after his body was discovered on the side of the road near his farm, riddled with bullets.

. . .

In an earlier interview with Semanariovoz about his concerns about the drilling, Fierro said, “There are two really important things. The environmental damage is the first, but the other is the damage to the social fabric. We know that the oil companies never come with good things. For one thing, the paramilitaries come behind the oil companies. After that come the psychopaths, the thieves, the rapists, and our culture dies. And the army also does this, so we are afraid.”

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Colombia-Campesino-Leader-Assassinated-20161119-0004.html

21 Colombia soldiers convicted of executing civilians in iconic ‘false positives’ case

written by Stephen Gill November 18, 2016

Twenty-one soldiers were found guilty on Thursday of the kidnapping and murdering of five boys and men from Soacha, central Colombia. The case spurred investigations that uncovered thousands of executions of civilians carried out by the armed forces.

A Cundinamarca judge convicted the National Army colonel and 20 soldiers for their responsibility in the crimes of forced disappearance, aggravated conspiracy, fraud, aggravated homicide, and arms trafficking.

The convictions apply to five civilians including one minor who were recruited with false promises of jobs in Soacha and then taken to Ocaña, a municipality in the Norte de Santander province.

Once in Ocaña, the victims were stripped of their identification and executed. The victims were put on camouflage uniforms and placed with weapons in their hands to make the victims of the cold-blooded executions look like guerrillas.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/21-soldiers-convicted-executing-civilians-iconic-false-positives-case/

Extraordinary photos show secluded Yanomami tribe ‘at risk from gold miners’



Serina Sandhu 18:12 Thursday November 17th 2016


Extraordinary photos of a South American tribe show the plight of members to live in complete seclusion from the outside world. The images show individuals from the Yanomami tribe, living in an “uncontacted” group, have set up their home in the middle of a forest in Brazil, hoping to remain undisturbed.

The pictures are being used by campaigners to reignite the fight to keep the indigenous peoples safe and protect them from gold miners and disease.

The Yanomami is a large tribe with territory straddling Brazil and Venezuela. The 35,000-strong tribe, dating back thousands of years, forms hundreds of smaller groups, approximately three of which live in complete isolation from their indigenous relatives and the outside world – “uncontacted” groups.

Now, aerial photos have emerged showing one these groups – of approximately 100 individuals – living close to the Venezuelan border. Some may never have seen anyone from outside of their group. Contacted groups, on the other hand, are less afraid of other Yanomami groups and the outside world.

More: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/extraordinary-photos-show-secluded-yanomami-tribe-risk-gold-miners/

Source: Colombia Reports

written by Stephen Gill November 16, 2016



Colombia’s Prosecutor General is investigating mounting evidence of alleged government infiltration of the country’s opposition campaign during the 2014 presidential elections.

The Democratic Center‘s Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, who barely lost to President Juan Manuel Santos in those elections, has long been accused of spying on peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels.

However, the former candidate increasingly seems to have been spied on himself while being spoon-fed information by the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI), Colombia’s main intelligence agency.

The alleged State agent in question is Rafael Revert, a Spanish hacker who was hired by the opposition campaign as part of the “cyber attack” team against Santos.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombias-state-intelligence-agency-spied-opposition-campaign-2014-elections/

Santos to be examined in Colombia and US for possible cancer relapse

written by Brian Levesque November 15, 2016



Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos was examined on Tuesday amid fears of a possible relapse of the prostate cancer he was treated for in 2012.

The president was undergoing tests in the Santa Fe Foundation of Bogota, and would be flying to John Hopkins Hospital in the United States on Wednesday for further examination.

According to a press statement, the medical center, “under medical supervision … an increase was detected in PSA values. A second review was conducted for verification, which confirmed the increase.”

Doctors recommended that “the president take an additional study with technology not available in this country.”

More:
http://colombiareports.com/santos-examined-colombia-us-possible-cancer-relapse/