By El Latino Newsroom
redaccion@latinocc.com
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said this week he would accept a proposal from the National Liberation Army, or ELN, to allow an independent commission to investigate the guerrilla group’s alleged links to the drug trade, a contentious issue that has repeatedly stalled peace efforts between the government and the country’s largest remaining rebel force.
The proposal was floated in a video published Jan. 20 by ELN leader Antonio García, who argued that while the insurgent group imposes a “tax” on cocaine traders operating in areas under its influence, it does not control trafficking routes or run cocaine laboratories.
García said the ELN has “no relation to drug trafficking” and challenged the government to authorize an independent body to verify the claim.
In a message posted on X, Petro said he would accept the idea and added that any verification agency should be “scientific and independent of governments,” with findings delivered to the United Nations.
Also, Petro also urged the ELN to support efforts to replace coca crops in the Catatumbo region in northeastern Colombia, an area central to coca production and armed-group disputes.
Petro has long accused the ELN of profiting from drug trafficking, at times describing its leaders as “drug traffickers dressed up as guerrilla fighters,” and he has insisted that negotiations can only resume if the group abandons drug-related activity.
Allegations of the ELN’s ties to narcotics trafficking were among the major obstacles that prevented talks from advancing during the first two years of Petro’s
administration, which launched a broad “total peace” strategy aimed at winding down multiple conflicts.
Formal talks ultimately collapsed last year after the ELN launched an offensive in Catatumbo that killed dozens and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes, according to officials.
In January, the ELN said it wanted to work with the government on a “national accord” that could enable negotiations to restart, but Petro reiterated that any return to the table would require the group to give up drug trafficking.
Founded in the early 1960s, the ELN has roughly 5,000 fighters in Colombia and neighboring Venezuela, making it the country’s most significant remaining guerrilla organization after the 2016 peace deal that demobilized most of the larger FARC insurgency.
EUROPE
The European Union’s top diplomat pushed back this week against U.S. criticism that Europe is in decline, rejecting claims that the continent faces “civilizational erasure” and warning against what she called “European-bashing.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas made the remarks at the Munich Security Conference, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a message aimed at reassuring European allies while underscoring the Trump administration’s intention to reshape key parts of the trans-Atlantic relationship.
Kallas referred to a U.S. national security strategy released in December that portrayed Europe as vulnerable because of economic stagnation and what it described as looming “civilizational erasure.”
The document argued that European immigration policies, declining birth rates, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition,” and a “loss of national identities and self-confidence” were weakening the continent.
“Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilizational erasure,” Kallas told conference participants.
She added that interest in joining the EU extends beyond Europe, saying she had been told during a visit to Canada last year that some Canadians were interested in EU membership.
Kallas said the EU’s emphasis on human rights and democratic values remains a source of strength and prosperity, rejecting accusations that Europe is undermining itself.
“We are … pushing humanity forward, trying to defend human rights and all this, which is actually bringing also prosperity for people,” she said, arguing that such criticisms were hard for her to accept.
Rubio, in his own address, sought to reassure allies that Washington does not want to end the trans-Atlantic era.
“It is neither our goal nor our wish,” he said, adding that “our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”
At the same time, he signaled the administration would hold firm on priorities including migration, trade and climate policy.
European speakers at the conference indicated they would also hold to their positions on issues such as free speech, climate change and free trade, highlighting a widening gap even as both sides emphasize the importance of the alliance.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking Saturday, said Europe must defend “the vibrant, free and diverse societies that we represent,” arguing that peaceful coexistence among people from different backgrounds is a source of strength, not a liability.
Kallas described Rubio’s speech as an important reminder that the United States and Europe remain closely connected, even as disagreements persist.
“It is also clear that we don’t see eye to eye on all the issues and this will remain the case as well. But I think we can work from there” she said.
CUBA
Cuba has postponed its iconic Habanos Festival, originally scheduled for the last week of February, as the island faces widespread power outages and severe fuel shortages.
Organizer Habanos S.A. said the decision was made to “preserve its high standard of quality,” but did not announce a new date for the 26th edition.
The festival is one of Cuba’s marquee international events for cigar distributors and aficionados, typically featuring tours of tobacco plantations, factory visits and auctions of rare, hand-rolled cigars.
Last year, the event closed with an auction in which a single lot fetched $18 million, and the company reported record sales of $827 million.
The postponement comes as Cuba’s energy crisis forces disruptions beyond the tourism and luxury sectors. Several cultural events, including a book fair, have also been delayed this month as shortages of fuel and electricity complicate transportation and logistics across the island.
The pressure has intensified amid a tightening U.S. stance on Cuba’s oil supply. In late January, President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, raising the cost and risk for suppliers and adding uncertainty to the island’s ability to secure shipments.
Cuba imports about 60% of its energy supply and has long depended on Venezuela and Mexico for much of its oil.
But Venezuelan shipments were canceled in January following the removal of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military raid and increased U.S. oversight of Venezuela’s oil industry, while Mexican shipments stopped in mid-February after Trump’s tariff threat, according to the information cited by organizers.
