Colombia's president says attack on army base 'practically ends' peace talks with ELN rebels

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Colombia's president says attack on army base 'practically ends' peace talks with ELN rebels

2024-09-18 22:26 Last Updated At：22:30

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — An attack on a military base in eastern Colombia killed two soldiers and injured at least 21, Colombia's military said on Tuesday, as tensions escalate between Colombia's government and one of the nation's largest remaining rebel groups.

Colombia's military blamed the National Liberation Army for the attack, with President Gustavo Petro hinting late on Tuesday that the attack will lead to a suspension or a cancellation of peace talks with the rebel group.

“This is an attack that practically closes a peace process, with blood," Petro said during a ceremony, in which he named a new judge to one of Colombia's highest courts.

The National Liberation Army, or ELN, ended a cease-fire with the Colombian government in August, but is still involved in peace talks aimed at ending more than five decades of conflict.

The army said Tuesday that the group fired homemade rockets from a cargo truck that had been parked near a base in Puerto Jordan, a small town in Colombia's Arauca province.

The ELN was founded in the early 1960s by union leaders and university students inspired by the Cuban Revolution. The group has an estimated 6,000 fighters in Colombia and Venezuela and finances itself through drug trafficking and illegal gold mines.

Recently the ELN has been spreading into rural areas abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the large rebel group that made a peace deal with Colombia's government in 2016.

After being elected two years ago, President Gustavo Petro quickly launched peace talks with the ELN and several smaller armed groups under a policy known as total peace.

But talks with ELN floundered as the group continued to conduct kidnappings and tax civilians in areas under its control. The ELN has also expressed its frustration with a recent effort by Colombia's government to start separate peace negotiations with one of its splinter groups in southwest Colombia.

A cease-fire between the government and ELN expired at the end of August and was not renewed. Since then, the group has stepped up its attacks on military targets and oil pipelines in Colombia's Arauca province.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Drought has dried an Amazon River tributary to its lowest level in 122 years

2024-10-05 01:49 Last Updated At：01:50

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — One of the Amazon River’s main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level in 122 years, Brazil’s geological service said Friday, reflecting a severe drought that has devastated the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the country.

The level of the Negro River at the port of Manaus was at 12.66 meters on Friday, as compared with a normal level of about 21 meters. The previous record low level was recorded last year, but toward the end of October.

The Negro River's water level might drop even further in coming weeks based on forecasts for low rainfall in upstream regions, according to the geological service's predictions. Andre Martinelli, the agency's hydrology manager in Manaus, was quoted as saying the river was expected to continue receding until the end of the month.

Water levels in Brazil’s Amazon always rise and fall with its rainy and dry seasons, but the dry portion of this year has been much worse than usual. All of the major rivers in the Amazon basin are at critical levels, including the Madeira River, the Amazon River’s longest tributary.

The Negro River drains about 10% of the Amazon basin and is the world’s sixth-largest by water volume. Manaus, the biggest city in the rainforest, is where the Negro joins the Amazon River.