标签： South America

High-level international negotiations focused on accelerating the global transition away from coal, oil, and gas officially launched Tuesday in Santa Marta, the Caribbean coastal hub of Colombia, bringing together more than 50 nations to push for bolder climate action after decades of stalled progress in formal global climate talks. This two-day ministerial and senior official segment forms the political core of the inaugural *First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels*, a landmark gathering convened outside the framework of United Nations climate negotiations to directly address the leading drivers of anthropogenic global warming that formal processes have long failed to tackle head-on.

Co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference opens with a clear, unifying core message from participating policymakers. Stientje van Veldhoven, Dutch minister for climate policy and green growth, emphasized that a full phase-out of fossil fuels is an unavoidable imperative, noting it delivers dual benefits beyond climate stability: strengthened national energy independence and enhanced energy security for all nations.

The summit itself emerged from growing frustration among climate-focused governments and grassroots advocacy groups, who argue that 30 years of U.N.-led climate negotiations have avoided direct, binding action to curb fossil fuel production. While recent formal U.N. talks have formally acknowledged the need for a global transition away from fossil fuels, deep divides persist between nations over implementation frameworks and, critically, how to fund the shift for lower-income and developing economies. That divide is on clear display even within host nation Colombia.

Security measures were tightened at the oceanfront Santa Marta hotel hosting the conference, in advance of an address scheduled Tuesday afternoon from Colombian President Gustavo Petro. The leftist Colombian leader has positioned his country as a global leading voice for fossil fuel phase-out, and has followed through on a campaign pledge to halt new oil and gas exploration in Colombia, despite the fact that the Andean nation remains heavily reliant on oil and coal exports to drive its national economy. With a national election just one month away, Petro is balancing his ambitious global climate leadership with domestic political tensions, visible on the streets outside the conference venue: members of a local mining union gathered to protest both Petro and the summit, holding signs reading “I arrive at the conference by plane to criticize the oil industry” and “More oil, less Petro”, chanting demands to protect existing fossil fuel jobs.

Even amid domestic friction, Colombian officials framed the gathering as a defining moment for cross-border climate solidarity. Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres opened the conference by urging participants to turn climate ambition into collective action, calling the summit a potential turning point in global history. “Let this conference be the moment when ambition becomes solidarity and when cooperation becomes the path toward a future beyond fossil fuels,” she said Tuesday morning.

Grassroots and youth activists at the opening plenary echoed that urgency, while pushing for a just transition that centers frontline communities disproportionately harmed by fossil fuel extraction and climate change. Yuvelis Morales Blanco, a 25-year-old climate activist from Puerto Wilches, Colombia, called on governments to move past vague pledges and adopt direct, concrete policy action to phase out fossil fuels and protect intact ecosystems. “We are called to make real the world we have imagined,” she said. “We demand energy justice, climate justice and justice for youth and children.”

Debates through the opening day of the conference have zeroed in on the biggest practical barrier to a global transition: affordable financing, particularly for developing nations that face steep borrowing costs and limited access to affordable capital to scale renewable energy infrastructure. Van Veldhoven emphasized that unlocking low-cost financing is non-negotiable for a global, equitable transition, noting that many low- and middle-income nations face crippling debt burdens and limited fiscal space to invest in clean energy. Participants have also debated the effectiveness of policy tools including carbon markets and fossil fuel subsidy phase-outs, alongside discussions to ensure the transition does not replicate historical patterns of extractive resource development that have harmed Indigenous and local communities.

Unlike formal U.N. climate talks, the Santa Marta conference will not produce binding international agreements. Instead, organizers designed the summit to build grassroots and political momentum for faster action, and to coordinate a bloc of nations willing to accelerate phase-out outside the slow formal U.N. process. The gathering is also seen as a critical steppingstone ahead of upcoming global climate negotiations, where fossil fuel phase-out timelines and transition finance will remain core sticking points for global negotiators.

In a pre-conference announcement Monday, small island developing nation Tuvalu — one of the countries most vulnerable to sea-level rise driven by climate change — revealed it will host the second iteration of the fossil fuel transition conference. Scientists and U.N. climate experts project the low-lying South Pacific nation could be completely submerged by rising ocean waters by 2100 if global emissions continue on their current trajectory, making the fight to phase out fossil fuels an existential priority for the Tuvaluan people.

As the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues, all eyes are turning to host cities across North America to see if critical infrastructure projects will be finished on time. One of the most high-stakes projects currently underway is the major renovation initiative at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport, a key gateway that will handle millions of visiting fans, players, and media personnel when the tournament kicks off in less than three years.

The British Broadcasting Corporation has launched a detailed examination of this ongoing upgrade work, which centers on expanding the airport’s overall passenger capacity to accommodate the unprecedented surge in air travel expected during the global sporting event. Benito Juárez already serves as Mexico’s busiest air hub, handling tens of millions of passengers annually, even before accounting for the extra traffic the 2026 World Cup will bring. The renovations are designed to upgrade terminal facilities, streamline processing lines, and boost the airport’s maximum throughput to prevent widespread travel disruptions that could overshadow the tournament.

The question on many industry analysts and soccer fans’ minds remains whether construction crews can meet the tight deadline set before the first match of the 2026 World Cup. Infrastructure delays have plagued major global events in the past, making this ongoing project a critical test of Mexico’s ability to deliver on its tournament commitments. The BBC’s in-depth review comes amid growing public interest in the progress of all host nation infrastructure, as stakeholders work to ensure the 2026 World Cup – the first co-hosted by three North American nations, and the largest edition in tournament history – runs smoothly from start to finish.

In a high-stakes, large-scale security operation that marks one of the most significant victories against Mexican organized crime in recent months, Mexican security forces have apprehended a senior leadership figure of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the world’s most powerful and violent transnational criminal networks.

The target, 45-year-old Audias Flores Silva—known widely by his cartel alias “El Jardinero” or “The Gardener”—was tracked down and captured without resistance on Monday in the western Mexican state of Nayarit. After roughly 500 security personnel closed in on his hiding location, Flores was found concealing himself in a large cement drainage ditch, his legs visible protruding from the pipe as armed officers moved in. Footage released by the Mexican Navy shows military helicopters hovering over a remote cabin in the area prior to the arrest, confirming the coordinated nature of the raid. Following his capture, Flores was immediately airlifted via helicopter to a maximum-security detention facility for holding.

Senior Mexican officials have confirmed that Flores served as the closest right-hand associate to Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, the former founder and leader of CJNG who was Mexico’s most-wanted criminal. El Mencho died two months ago from injuries sustained during a clash with military forces deployed to arrest him, and Flores was widely named among the top candidates expected to take control of the entire cartel in the wake of El Mencho’s death. Unlike his former boss, who died in a gunfight with security forces, Flores surrendered without any resistance when officers closed in on his hiding spot.

Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch publicly announced the successful operation via social media, where he commended the personnel of the Mexican Navy for their work. “I recognize the bravery, discipline and dedication of the women and men of the Mexican Navy who carried out this key operation against organized crime,” Harfuch wrote.

The arrest carries major cross-border significance, as the United States had long targeted Flores for his role in the cartel’s drug trafficking operations. The U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Flores’ capture, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson praised the operation in a post on X, calling the arrest “an important step” in disrupting transnational criminal activity. “Actions like this strengthen security on both sides of our border and help dismantle criminal networks that threaten communities in both our countries,” Johnson wrote.

For Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the successful capture represents a major policy win, as her administration has faced growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to step up efforts to combat cartels smuggling illicit drugs from Mexico into the United States. In a precautionary move to prevent widespread violence following the high-profile arrest, Sheinbaum’s security cabinet deployed additional security personnel to Nayarit and surrounding regions, a response shaped by the wave of coordinated unrest that swept through eight Mexican states after El Mencho’s death in February.

Initial reports confirm that scattered retaliatory attacks have already occurred, with cartel affiliates setting fire to six vehicles and six local businesses in response to Flores’ arrest. However, Nayarit’s governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero told reporters Tuesday that the security deployment has kept the situation under control, confirming no major roadblocks have been established by cartel members and that overall public order remains calm across the state.

A wave of brutal coordinated attacks that left 20 civilians dead in southwestern Colombia has triggered a massive manhunt, with national authorities offering the largest reward in the country’s history for information leading to the capture of the suspected mastermind. Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the 5 billion peso ($1.4 million) bounty for Iván Jacob Idrobo Arredondo, the dissident rebel commander more widely known by his alias “Marlon”.

Sánchez has formally accused Marlon of ordering Saturday’s deadliest attack—a roadside bomb detonation on the Pan-American Highway linking the cities of Cali and Popayán—along with a string of other violent incidents over the same weekend across Cauca and Valle del Cauca provinces. To date, government officials have not released public evidence or additional operational details supporting the accusation. Local authorities confirmed that the highway blast, which tore a massive crater in the road and destroyed multiple passenger buses and civilian vehicles, killed 15 women and five men, marking one of the deadliest attacks on innocent civilians in recent Colombian history.

The targeted attack comes just over one month before Colombia’s national presidential election scheduled for May 31, injecting new volatility into an already tense political campaign. Marlon is a senior commander in an armed faction led by Iván Mordisco, the country’s most-wanted dissident rebel leader. Mordisco was originally a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), but split from the group shortly before it signed a landmark 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government. Today, Mordisco’s faction is widely recognized as Colombia’s most powerful dissident rebel organization, with documented involvement in illegal mining, extortion, and large-scale drug trafficking operations across the country’s southwestern regions.

Cauca Governor Octavio Guzmán called Saturday’s highway bombing “the most brutal and ruthless attack against the civilian population in decades”, echoing widespread public outrage over the violence. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose current term ends in August this year, labeled those responsible for the attacks “terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers” and immediately deployed additional military troops to the unrest-plagued region to step up security operations.

Per Colombia’s constitution, Petro is barred from running for a second consecutive term, and he has thrown his support behind left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda in the upcoming election. Cepeda has campaigned on a platform of renewing negotiation efforts with rebel dissident groups, and recent opinion polling shows him holding a slim lead over a field of right-wing opposition candidates who have advocated for a far harder military-first approach to counter insurgency. If no candidate wins an outright majority in the May 31 vote, a run-off election will be held on June 21 to determine the country’s next president.

On a quiet Saturday along Colombia’s critical Pan-American Highway, a hidden explosive device ripped through a civilian passenger bus traveling through the municipality of Cajibio, leaving a trail of death and devastation that has shaken the South American nation. Regional authorities confirmed Sunday that the death toll from the attack has climbed to 20, with 15 women and five men counted among the fatal victims.

Octavio Guzmán, governor of the hard-hit Cauca department, shared updated details on the social platform X, noting that 36 additional people were wounded in the blast. Three of those injured remain in intensive care, while five child victims are expected to make a full recovery, according to Guzmán’s update. Forensic teams have launched a full identification effort to confirm the identities of all those killed: Colombia’s Institute of Legal Medicine has deployed a multi-disciplinary team of specialists, including forensic dentists, anthropologists, and medical examiners, to process remains and notify next of kin.

This deadly bombing is not an isolated incident. Over the past 72 hours alone, more than two dozen violent attacks have been recorded across southwestern Colombia, a long-troubled region marked by power struggles between illegal armed factions. These groups have long fought to control lucrative coca growing territories and strategic river and coastal smuggling routes that feed multi-billion dollar drug trafficking networks supplying Central American and European illicit drug markets.

Top Colombian military leaders have labeled the attack a clear act of terrorism. Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s national Armed Forces, pinned responsibility for the bombing on two dissident factions originating from the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC): the network of Iván Mordisco, one of the country’s most-wanted fugitive leaders, and the Jaime Martínez faction, both of which maintain a heavy armed presence in Cauca.

International bodies have joined in condemning the violence against civilian communities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a formal statement rejecting the attacks, calling on Colombian law enforcement and judicial authorities to launch a full, transparent investigation into the incident and ensure accountability and justice for all those affected. In response to the tragedy, Governor Guzmán announced a three-day period of national mourning across Cauca on Sunday to honor the lives lost in the attack.