Gen Z activists who toppled Nepal's government are frustrated with the leaders they brought to power

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Mukesh Awasti was all set to leave for Australia to pursue a degree in civil engineering on a sunny day in September, but instead he joined a youth revolt against corruption in Nepal and lost his leg after being shot by security forces.

Lying on a hospital bed at the National Trauma Center in the capital Kathmandu where his leg was amputated, 22-year-old Awasti said he regrets giving up so much for the little that has been achieved after the sacrifices of so many people.

Violent protests in Kathmandu that began Sept. 8 left 76 people dead and more than 2,300 injured before the demonstrations fueled by “Gen Z” activists forced the appointment on Sept. 12 of Nepal's first female prime minister, Sushila Karki, a retired Supreme Court judge who has promised fresh elections in March.

Since then, the interim government and its leader have come under criticism from many of the people who took part in the protests and expected major changes in the Himalayan nation.

“I am regretting my decision to take part in the protest because they have been zero achievement from the new government we brought which has failed us,” Awasti said. “There should be end to corruption which has not happened and the people who opened fire on the demonstrations should have been arrested but that that has also not happened either.”

So far the government's anti-graft agency has filed one significant corruption case that does not include key political figures. The politicians accused of corruption by protesters are preparing to contest upcoming elections and there has been no case filed against leaders who were in power when protesters were injured in September.

Dozens of demonstrators, including some who were injured in September, recently have protested against the government they brought to power. These protests outside the prime minister's office has been held in the past few weeks with police forced to break some of them.

“We are back here in the street because the government has failed to live up to their promise. There are so many families of those who lost their lives and many who were injured but what has the government done? Nothing," said Suman Bohara, who walks with crutches on a shattered right foot. "We are here because we are compelled to.”

Tens of thousands of mostly young demonstrators first gathered in Kathmandu on Sept. 8 to protest widespread corruption, lack of opportunities, employment and poor governance, which was triggered by a ban on social media. They broke through police barricades and attempted to enter parliament, only to be shot by security forces.

A day later, the protests spread across the country. Angry mobs burned down the offices of the prime minister and president, police stations and the homes of top politicians who were forced to flee on army helicopters. The army eventually stepped in to restore control and negotiations ended with Karki's appointment and the key task of conducting parliamentary elections.

The government has said it is determined to meet that goal.

“As the world is looking forward to a smooth change in government through our elections on March 5, I want to assure that we will deliver these elections,” Karki said. “Our preparations are almost complete, and the security environment has improved a lot with our security apparatus is assured enough.”

Different demands have emerged from separate groups among the young protesters including direct election of prime ministers, scrapping the present constitution and jailing all previous politicians. There is no single leader or group but rather several individuals who have claimed to represent Nepal’s voice in the Gen Z movement.

The lack of clarity among the protesters since September has been a key hurdle in Nepal, according to analysts.

“All the confusion right now in Nepal is because of the lack of clarity among the Gen Z groups on what they are demanding and how the government was formed,” said Abeeral Thapa, principal of Polygon College of Journalism and Mass Communications in Kathmandu.

Some are beginning to oppose the planned elections in March, saying their protest was not intended only to bring about elections for a new Parliament, while their demands to end corruption and arrest all the corrupt politicians should be fulfilled immediately.

Other groups seek elections that would bring new lawmakers who would perform all these tasks.

It has not been clear how powerful the government is and the limitations on a mandate to fulfill all the demands from the people who brought the interim leaders to office. When appointing the interim government, the president mentioned that the key purpose was to conduct elections for Parliament.

Thapa noted Nepal’s constitution does not have a specific provision for forming an interim government. A line in the document reads, “The main duty of the President shall be to abide and protect the constitution.”

“The protests were not well planned to begin with, they began with controlling corruption and end the ban on social media,” Thapa said. “But in reality what happened was like they had gone deer hunting but ended up killing a tiger, with the protest taking a major turn with the government collapsing.”

It remains doubtful the promised election in March can be held, but there are no alternatives to polls, Thapa said.

Members of Gen Z protest groups are joined by injured victims and family members of those who died during September protests at a candlelight vigil outside the Parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

FILE - Nepal's new Prime Minister Sushila Karki waits as ministers prepare to take the oath of office administered by Nepali President Ram Chandra Poudel at the presidential building in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)

FILE - Protesters celebrate at the parliament building after it was set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Prakash Timalsina, File)

Mukesh Awasti, 22, who took part in September protests against corruption in Nepal and lost his leg after being shot by security forces, lies on a hospital bed during treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Nepalese police detain a young protester during an anti-government rally in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he’d even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.

“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump posted on his social media site. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”

He wrote that the upcoming meeting would take place at the White House.

That came mere days after Trump said in the wake of the U.S. operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend that “Colombia is very sick too” and accused Petro of ”making cocaine and selling it to the United States."

In comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump added of Petro, “He’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” Asked whether U.S. intervention was possible, Trump responded, ”Sounds good to me.”

Later Wednesday, addressing thousands of protesters that he had mobilized to rally against U.S. military threats, Petro said he had spoken with Trump for roughly one hour.

“I talked about two things: Venezuela and the issue of drug trafficking,” he told the crowd in downtown Bogotá, where demonstrators had just minutes earlier chanted slogans against the United States at Petro’s behest.

Petro explained to the audience that Colombian politicians allegedly linked to narco-trafficking misled the U.S. president about Petro’s record to turn Trump against him.

“Those (people) are responsible for this crisis — let’s call it diplomatic for now, verbal for now — that has erupted between the U.S. and Colombia,” he said.

Trump now suddenly warming to Petro is especially surprising since Colombia’s president called the U.S. operation in Venezuela an “abhorrent” violation of Latin American sovereignty. He also suggested it was committed by “enslavers” and constituted a “spectacle of death” comparable to Nazi Germany’s 1937 carpet bombing of Guernica, Spain.

Colombia has long been among America’s staunchest Latin American allies, a pillar of Washington’s counternarcotics strategy abroad. For three decades, the U.S. has worked closely with Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off rebel groups and boost economic development in rural areas.

Still, before Trump's conciliatory post, tensions had been rising between the U.S. and Colombia for months.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions in October on Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade. Colombia is considered the epicenter of the world’s cocaine trade.

Trump began his monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro by ordering dozens of lethal strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats launched from Venezuela in the Caribbean. He eventually expanded the operations to also target suspected vessels in the eastern Pacific that came from Colombia.

The U.S. in September added Colombia, the top recipient of American assistance in the region, to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years. The designation led to a slashing of U.S. assistance to the country.

“He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories," Trump said of Petro on Sunday. "He’s not going to be doing it.”

__

Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

__

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Colombian president's name.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro addresses supporters in a rally he called to protest comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a rally he called to protest comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)