Colombia

Colombians elect the country's first leftist president and first Black woman to be vice president.

A 77-year-old populist who campaigns over TikTok and promises budget cuts and jail for corrupt officials is now neck and neck with his leftist opponent ahead of Sunday's runoff election.

Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro sits down with NPR and talks about his time in a guerrilla group and proposals to tackle poverty and climate change.

Three major candidates emerge to compete in the country's May presidential election.

The decision by the tribunal of nine judges fell short of the expectations of pro-choice groups that had been pushing for abortion to be completely decriminalized in Colombia.

Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known by his alias Otoniel, is the alleged head of the much-feared Gulf Clan. President Iván Duque likened his arrest to the capture three decades ago of Pablo Escobar.

Global Witness, an international human rights group, says a record 227 grassroots environmental activists were killed in 2020. More than half were killed in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.

"We want to demonstrate that although we're not a rich country, we can do something that is humanitarian ... but at the same time is an intelligent and sound migration policy," Iván Duque tells NPR.

Colombia's president has unveiled a program to let undocumented Venezuelan migrants live and work legally in the country for up to 10 years. Nearly a million Venezuelans in Colombia lack legal status.

The move will allow migrants to work legally in Colombia, obtain 10-year residence permits and access social services including healthcare and COVID-19 vaccines.