Colombia is bombing armed groups with the aid of US intelligence. And Haiti’s historic World Cup qualification brings a smile to a struggling nation.
COLOMBIA
Killing of minors puts Petro’s bombing campaign in the spotlight
One of Gustavo Petro’s main campaign slogans as he rose to Colombia’s presidency was “total peace,” involving negotiated agreements to demobilize all remaining armed groups in the country — be they left-wing guerrillas, drug cartels or even right-wing paramilitary organizations.
Far from achieving these goals, key government officials admitted this year that the total peace process “did not work out well,” with countless ceasefire violations and horrific bouts of violence in multiple areas of the country.
Now, Petro seems to have switched tactics, resuming Colombia’s bombing campaigns in a move that has drawn criticism from supporters and human rights organizations, who accuse him of slaughtering innocent people and betraying his promises.
Earlier this month, Colombia saw the deadliest military bombing under Petro’s watch, which killed 19 members of a dissident FARC group that did not join the 2016 peace agreements, including 7 minors.
The attack targeted areas controlled by Iván Mordisco, a former FARC guerrilla leader who now heads the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) dissident group. Mordisco is one of Colombia’s most wanted men, and has been described by Petro as “a drug trafficker disguised as a revolutionary. The Colombian state accuses him of extortion, kidnapping and links to South America’s growing illegal mining network.
👉 Why it matters. Petro now finds himself in an uncomfortable position. While tough-on-crime policies are popular in Latin America (and perhaps part of Petro’s calculation, given the proximity of presidential elections next year), his U-turn contradicts old criticisms of his predecessors, and has sparked a nationwide debate that put Petro on the defensive.
Last week, Colombia’s Public Defender’s Office and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke out against Petro’s bombings. Days later, Colombia’s prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation to determine whether troops violated humanitarian protocols with their actions, which have resulted in the death of at least 15 minors since August.
“This is the painful and inhumane unfolding of war, and it is affecting the most vulnerable: minors who were recruited, now turned into military targets. It illustrates how degraded the principles of humanity, dignity, necessity, proportionality and precaution have become in our country,” said Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman Iris Marín Ortiz.
Petro denies claims that he changed course, and argues that his air raids took place while “fully respecting human rights.” Interestingly the president added that the raids made use of US intelligence and were aimed at stopping the flow of arms into Venezuela.
His words suggested some kind of collaboration with Donald Trump’s administration, in a year that has been marked by constant tensions between both leaders, including a refusal to take in Colombian deportees, the revoking of Petro’s US visa, and Trump’s decertification of Colombia as a trusted partner in the fight against drug trafficking.
The US military is currently stationed in the Caribbean not far from Colombia’s shores, and has reportedly killed Colombian citizens that it alleged were drug traffickers, sparking further protests from Petro. This week, Trump said that he would proudly destroy cocaine factories in Colombia, as the country would “save millions of lives by doing it.”
FOOTBALL
Against all odds, Haiti returns to the World Cup after 52 years
Life in Haiti has been relentlessly harsh on its citizens, but the country gave them one reason to smile this week, as its men’s national team beat the odds to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, returning to the top table of international football for the first time since 1974.
Fifty-two years after their last and only World Cup participation, “Les Grenadiers” were the surprise of their qualifying group, eliminating Central American powerhouse Costa Rica, a quarterfinalist in 2014, as well as other semi-regular qualifiers like Honduras.
A solid 2-0 win over Nicaragua was the last stop on the road to glory, as Haiti finished top of Group C in the Concacaf qualification zone, grouping all teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean.
With the US, Mexico and Canada already qualified as hosts, the region’s smaller nations had a better chance than usual, with Haiti joining Panama and the tiny Curaçao in bagging automatic World Cup spots.
But Haiti had to fight until the last minute — in fact, its struggles continued after their game was over, with players gathered on the pitch after their victory, following the live score from the other match of the group before exploding in celebration at the final whistle.
👉 Why it matters. While they avoided Concacaf’s big guns, the odds were still stacked against Haiti, not least because they were unable to play any qualifiers at home due to the ongoing criminal crisis that has seen gangs take over most of the country’s capital. Instead, they played on the island of Curaçao, some 800 kilometers from Port-au-Prince.
Appointed 18 months before their heroic qualification, Haiti’s French head coach Sebastien Migne has yet to even visit the country, as international flights to Haiti remain heavily restricted due to safety concerns, with few commercial routes still in operation.
Their historic qualification had additional symbolism, as it took place on November 18, which marked the 222nd anniversary of the “Battle of Vertières,” a key victory of Haitian revolutionaries against French colonial troops that paved the way for the country’s independence proclamation a few days later.
“November 18, 220 years after the Vertières battle, Haiti is back. We have won another battle, this time on the football field. This country cannot die, this country just cannot die. Haiti is back! We are back in the World Cup,” one Haitian supporter told The Miami Herald.
Sadly, the football triumph was just a brief reprieve from daily life in Haiti. With Port-au-Prince engulfed in gang violence, even Vertière’s anniversary event had to be discreet, celebrated under heavily armed security and far from its historic landmarks.
And while November 18 was a day of celebrations, the country’s fragile institutions had failed again three days earlier, as the November 15 deadline to call new elections was once again left unmet by Haiti’s transitional council.
⚽ Read more: Haiti’s Joe Gaetjens, from football glory to political tragedy
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Which of these countries has never qualified for the men’s football World Cup?
- Cuba
- Venezuela
- Bolivia
- Jamaica
QUICK CATCH-UP
🤼 A diplomatic crisis erupted in Panama after a group of lawmakers visited Taiwan, eight years after the countries officially cut ties. Chinese authorities were the first to object, while US officials came out in support of Panama’s legislators. President José Raúl Molino called Chinese ambassador Xu Xueyuan for consultations, but tried to minimize the spat by saying that the trips to Taipei do not “enjoy the support” of the country’s executive branch.
🚔 Authorities in Mexico arrested a man who allegedly ordered the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, a proponent of strong actions against criminal groups to regain territorial control of the city, and sometimes compared to El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele. According to Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, the suspect is linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which the US designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.
📣 A leader of Venezuela’s opposition living in Chile claimed he survived an attempt on his life this week, as a group of unknown gunmen attacked his car in Santiago. In a press release, Venezuela’s opposition said they believed the assailants were politically motivated, in a city that has already seen exiles from Caracas kidnapped and murdered by criminals, in incidents that prosecutors linked to Nicolás Maduro’s government.
🏔️ At least five tourists died during a heavy snowstorm at Torres del Paine National Park, in Chile’s Southern Patagonia region. The victims, who came from the UK, Mexico and Germany, got lost near a camp in a hard-to-reach area, while another four missing people were found alive by rescue teams.