TOPIC

/ location

Colombia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Colombia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Bogotá

Head of State

President Gustavo Petro

Head of Government

President Gustavo Petro

The first line of the Bogota Metro is expected to begin commercial operations in 2028 after decades of planning and political debate. Photo: Handout

China-Latin America relations

Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project

Subcontractor accuses China Harbour managers of demanding cash to release payments on Bogota metro project.

5 hours ago

Crime

Colombia bombing near police station wounds 14 ahead of president’s inauguration

2 Aug 2026 - 6:08AM

Fame and celebrity

Meet Douglas Chabbott, Sofia Vergara’s much younger boyfriend

17 Jul 2026 - 6:00PM

Gun violence in the US

Trump lashes out at ICE decision to pause traffic stops after fatal shootings

A driver was killed by an agent in Maine just six days after another man was shot to death in Texas.

15 Jul 2026 - 9:42PM

Blood at the scene of the fatal shooting involving ICE in Biddeford, Maine. Photo: AP

Americas and the Caribbean

Colombia’s president-elect halts transition, accuses Petro of planning coup

President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella calls on the military to ‘protect’ the country’s democracy after outgoing leader alleges election fraud.

8 Jul 2026 - 10:33AM

China-Latin America relations

Aid for Venezuela, China-Colombia ties: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s move towards Beijing to Lula’s beef deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in June 2026.

2 Jul 2026 - 10:30PM

Crime

UK man arrested after woman’s body found in suitcase in Colombia

He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene.

28 Jun 2026 - 8:29PM

A view of Bogota, Colombia. Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith is alleged to have caused the death of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba in an apartment in the Chico neighbourhood of Bogota, Colombia, on June 18, local authorities said. Photo: Shutterstock

Venezuela

Venezuela earthquakes draw aid from governments that cut ties with Caracas

Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and other governments that suspended relations with the country offer rescue teams and humanitarian aid.

26 Jun 2026 - 8:52PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

China extends hand to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect

Beijing offers to work with de la Espriella in spite of his firm’s legal clash over the metro with a Chinese group and his US realignment vow.

23 Jun 2026 - 6:00AMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Trump-backed ‘El Tigre’ wins Colombia presidential election

Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly secures a hard-right victory, promising an ‘iron fist’ security campaign against cartels.

22 Jun 2026 - 3:33PM

Abelardo De La Espriella addresses supporters from behind bulletproof glass. Photo: Reuters

Americas and the Caribbean

Colombians vote for president amid corruption fears, polarisation

Conservative businessman Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator and heir to the outgoing president Iván Cepeda have traded insults and accusations of election fraud.

21 Jun 2026 - 6:02PM

Colombia’s presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the ultraconservative ‘Defenders of the Homeland’ movement raises his fist as he leaves a meeting outside the Cubo de Cristal building in Barranquilla, on Saturday. Photo: AFP

China-Latin America relations

China says US ‘invented’ terrorism charges to justify Cuba blockade

Foreign ministry rebutted Marco Rubio’s claim that Cuba sponsors terrorism and demanded an end to US sanctions on the island.

5 Jun 2026 - 10:03AMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Behind bulletproof glass: pro-Trump showman has edge in Colombia presidential race

Abelardo de la Espriella to face Ivan Cepeda in June 21 run-off following a violent and highly polarised first-round.

1 Jun 2026 - 1:47PM

Spain

‘8-year-ordeal’: Spanish court acquits pop star Shakira of tax fraud

Money the Colombian singer paid in fines - plus interest - will be paid back to her after a lengthy dispute over residency.

18 May 2026 - 8:55PM

Colombian singer Shakira performing in 2025. Photo: AFP

Science

Global food and water supplies on thin ice as Argentina opens glaciers to mining

Scientists warn that allowing access to deposits near vital ice reserves threatens food production sustaining 400 million people.

10 May 2026 - 6:00AMvideocam

Argentina’s 16,000 glaciers form a vital freshwater reserve for the country, a major food exporter. Photo: AFP

Americas and the Caribbean

Birthday girl among 3 crushed to death by monster truck in Colombia

Spectacle turns to tragedy as driver performing a wheelie crashes into barriers separating the public from the track.

5 May 2026 - 11:35AM

Climate change

Tropical forest loss still 11 football fields a minute – or Denmark per year

Researchers warn that fires fuelled by climate change are a dangerous new normal and could reverse gains made in tackling deforestation.

29 Apr 2026 - 9:35PMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Ironically for president ‘drill, baby, drill’, this crisis may prove an irreversible tipping point for clean energy.

26 Apr 2026 - 3:00PM

An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP

Americas and the Caribbean

Explosive device kills 20 and injures 36 on bus in Colombia

At least 26 such incidents have taken place in the last two days, amid a wave of violence linked to drug-trafficking.

27 Apr 2026 - 7:27AM

Hong Kong society

New York’s Met to debut glittering global jewellery exhibition in Hong Kong

From golden headdresses to diamond brooches, the Hong Kong Palace Museum will showcase some 200 pieces spanning 4,000 years and five continents.

14 Apr 2026 - 7:03PM

Americas and the Caribbean

Peru presidential run-off looms as Fujimori leads troubled vote

Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands.

13 Apr 2026 - 6:18PMvideocam

Keiko Fujimori after voting on Sunday. Photo: AP

Americas and the Caribbean

Peru set to choose from a bewildering array of 35 presidential hopefuls

Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds first place ⁠in the polls ⁠one week before Peru’s presidential election.

8 Apr 2026 - 5:00PM

Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori. Photo: Reuters

US-Venezuela conflict

US reopens embassy in Venezuela months after military operation to remove Maduro

The State Department said normal operations had resumed at the Caracas embassy after a 7-year closure that began during Trump’s first term.

31 Mar 2026 - 3:45AM

Aviation accidents

At least 66 dead as Colombia military plane crashes after take-off

Death toll rises from a Hercules C-130 transport plane crash deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region.

24 Mar 2026 - 1:46PM

Middle East

Letters | As the US attacks Iran, the ancient Battle of Carrhae offers lessons

Readers discuss the war in the Middle East, the opportunity for Colombians in Hong Kong to vote, the importance of teacher well-being, and the poon choi tradition.

6 Mar 2026 - 11:30AM

The US Navy destroyer USS Delbert D. Black fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location on February 28. Photo: US Navy/Handout via Reuters

Americas and the Caribbean

Colombia’s president says he escaped assassination attempt while in helicopter

Gustavo Petro says his helicopter had to evade people who ‘were going to shoot’ at it, forcing him to fly over open sea for hours.

11 Feb 2026 - 1:13PM

President Gustavo Petro in the cockpit of one of the 12 Black Hawk helicopters donated by the US government in 2022. Photo: Colombian Presidency via AFP

China’s private sector

Luckin’s 30,000th store milestone adds buzz to China’s brewing coffee battle

Xiamen-headquartered chain pushes to integrate supply network worldwide and accelerate growth in markets from Asia to the US.

9 Feb 2026 - 7:04PM

Donald Trump

Trump and Colombia’s Petro appear to bury hatchet after months of tensions

US president calls Gustavo Petro ‘terrific’ after their first face-to-face encounter, following months of trading barbs.

4 Feb 2026 - 12:16PM

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Colombia

Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project

Subcontractor accuses China Harbour managers of demanding cash to release payments on Bogota metro project.

Colombia bombing near police station wounds 14 ahead of president’s inauguration

Meet Douglas Chabbott, Sofia Vergara’s much younger boyfriend

Trump lashes out at ICE decision to pause traffic stops after fatal shootings

A driver was killed by an agent in Maine just six days after another man was shot to death in Texas.

Colombia’s president-elect halts transition, accuses Petro of planning coup

President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella calls on the military to ‘protect’ the country’s democracy after outgoing leader alleges election fraud.

Aid for Venezuela, China-Colombia ties: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s move towards Beijing to Lula’s beef deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in June 2026.

UK man arrested after woman’s body found in suitcase in Colombia

He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene.

Venezuela earthquakes draw aid from governments that cut ties with Caracas

Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and other governments that suspended relations with the country offer rescue teams and humanitarian aid.

China extends hand to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect

Beijing offers to work with de la Espriella in spite of his firm’s legal clash over the metro with a Chinese group and his US realignment vow.

Trump-backed ‘El Tigre’ wins Colombia presidential election

Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly secures a hard-right victory, promising an ‘iron fist’ security campaign against cartels.

Colombians vote for president amid corruption fears, polarisation

Conservative businessman Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator and heir to the outgoing president Iván Cepeda have traded insults and accusations of election fraud.

China says US ‘invented’ terrorism charges to justify Cuba blockade

Foreign ministry rebutted Marco Rubio’s claim that Cuba sponsors terrorism and demanded an end to US sanctions on the island.

Behind bulletproof glass: pro-Trump showman has edge in Colombia presidential race

Abelardo de la Espriella to face Ivan Cepeda in June 21 run-off following a violent and highly polarised first-round.

‘8-year-ordeal’: Spanish court acquits pop star Shakira of tax fraud

Money the Colombian singer paid in fines - plus interest - will be paid back to her after a lengthy dispute over residency.

Global food and water supplies on thin ice as Argentina opens glaciers to mining

Scientists warn that allowing access to deposits near vital ice reserves threatens food production sustaining 400 million people.

Birthday girl among 3 crushed to death by monster truck in Colombia

Spectacle turns to tragedy as driver performing a wheelie crashes into barriers separating the public from the track.

Tropical forest loss still 11 football fields a minute – or Denmark per year

Researchers warn that fires fuelled by climate change are a dangerous new normal and could reverse gains made in tackling deforestation.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Ironically for president ‘drill, baby, drill’, this crisis may prove an irreversible tipping point for clean energy.

Explosive device kills 20 and injures 36 on bus in Colombia

At least 26 such incidents have taken place in the last two days, amid a wave of violence linked to drug-trafficking.

New York’s Met to debut glittering global jewellery exhibition in Hong Kong

From golden headdresses to diamond brooches, the Hong Kong Palace Museum will showcase some 200 pieces spanning 4,000 years and five continents.

Peru presidential run-off looms as Fujimori leads troubled vote

Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands.

Peru set to choose from a bewildering array of 35 presidential hopefuls

Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds first place ⁠in the polls ⁠one week before Peru’s presidential election.

US reopens embassy in Venezuela months after military operation to remove Maduro

The State Department said normal operations had resumed at the Caracas embassy after a 7-year closure that began during Trump’s first term.

At least 66 dead as Colombia military plane crashes after take-off

Death toll rises from a Hercules C-130 transport plane crash deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region.

Letters | As the US attacks Iran, the ancient Battle of Carrhae offers lessons

Readers discuss the war in the Middle East, the opportunity for Colombians in Hong Kong to vote, the importance of teacher well-being, and the poon choi tradition.

Colombia’s president says he escaped assassination attempt while in helicopter

Gustavo Petro says his helicopter had to evade people who ‘were going to shoot’ at it, forcing him to fly over open sea for hours.

Luckin’s 30,000th store milestone adds buzz to China’s brewing coffee battle

Xiamen-headquartered chain pushes to integrate supply network worldwide and accelerate growth in markets from Asia to the US.

Trump and Colombia’s Petro appear to bury hatchet after months of tensions

US president calls Gustavo Petro ‘terrific’ after their first face-to-face encounter, following months of trading barbs.

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era