Violence has not let up this year in Colombia where the rates of murders of human rights defenders, signatories of the peace agreement, forced displacements or massacres have remained high, despite the fact that in some cases there have been slight decreases.

This is stated by the NGO Institute of Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) in the document “Violence in Colombia report 2023”, published this Friday, in which it concludes that this panorama makes it necessary to take “measures to confront the complex situation of leaders, social leaders and human rights defenders”.

Between January 1 and December 28 of this year, 188 people who were developing some type of leadership or defense of human rights in Colombia were murdered, according to the report. “Regarding 2022 and until the date of issuance of this report, one more leader has been murdered than the previous year (…) On average, 15 leaders or human rights defenders were murdered per month.”

Murders of peace signers

The report also details that this year 44 signatories of the Government's peace agreement with the former FARC guerrilla were murdered, six less than in 2022 when there were 50 murders. “During 2023 the average number of murders of signatories of the agreement per month was three, while in 2022 it was four,” Indepaz added.

This year, 94 massacres were perpetrated, the same number as in 2022. However, the victims of these crimes were 343 last year, while this year there were 335.

“In the case of massacres, compared to the year 2022, the average number of massacres committed per month remains at eight, with January and November 2023 being the months with the highest number of cases with twelve and eleven respectively,” the report noted.

Regarding the victims of antipersonnel mines, this year 55 people, six of them minors, were affected by the explosion of these devices, mostly in the department of Nariño, bordering Ecuador.

His name appeared in all the pools prior to the formation of the Government of President Javier Milei in Argentina and, although he did not finally obtain a seat in his ministerial cabinet, the economist Federico Sturzenegger is one of the libertarian's main advisors and plays a fundamental role in the design of their economic “shock” plans.

Born in the Santa Fe town of Rufino in 1966, Sturzenegger studied Economics at the National University of La Plata and continued specializing until the mid-nineties when he became chief economist of the Argentine oil company YPF.

His entry into politics did not take long.. Sturzenegger held the position of Secretary of Economic Policy in March 2001, during the Government of the radical Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001), so Sturzenegger was hit hard by the economic, political and social crisis of December 2001. middle of the storm.

During his Secretariat, the Government of De la Rúa and his controversial Minister of Economy, Domingo Cavallo, presented the “mega-swap”, an operation to exchange public securities that was presented as a great financial achievement, but which led to lawsuits against its promoters. , among them, Sturzenegger himself, who was finally dismissed in this case.

He left politics and ended up returning

With the cascade of resignations in 2001 and radicalism fading, Sturzenegger left the front line and returned to the academic world.. He was recognized at the World Economic Forum in Davos, received a Konex Prize in the Humanities category and was a visiting professor of public policy at foreign universities.

At the same time, he combined his academic work with the publication of articles in the press. In 2008, the then mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, recovered Sturzenegger and appointed him president of Banco Ciudad.

The relationship between the economist and Macri became increasingly closer, and Sturzenegger completely integrated into Macri's party, becoming a member of the Republican Proposal (Pro) party, for which he was a national deputy between 2013 and 2015.

President of the Bank of Argentina

With Macri's victory in the 2015 presidential elections and his arrival at the Casa Rosada, the economist was named president of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic.

Sturzenegger led the monetary entity for three years, until 2018 and during this time he eliminated the exchange rate on the US dollar, promoted the creation of mortgage loans for the housing market and the expansion of instruments such as Central Bank bills (Lebac). and the liquidity letters (Leliq), which have been widely criticized by Milei.

His management at the helm of the Central Bank ended in 2018, when high levels of inflation caused a change in the direction of the entity, in which Macri placed Luis Caputo, who is currently in charge of the Ministry of Economy in the Milei government. .

Both came to be investigated in the judicial investigations that began in 2021 in Argentina for the financial rescue signed between Macri and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) worth $57 billion.

Behind Milei's reforms

If Caputo is in charge of the macroeconomic part in Milei's Executive, Sturzenegger is the soul of the structural reforms that the Argentine president proposes for the economy, social and political life of Argentina.

All of them are synthesized in two batteries of measures designed by Sturzenegger: the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) and the macro-project of public emergency law that gives “superpowers” to the president.

In the presentation of the first on a national radio and television network, Milei appeared accompanied by his entire team at the Casa Rosada. Of all those present at that appearance, only Federico Sturzenegger was not a public official.

His role as “architect” is also possible thanks to his closeness to the president, whom he advises on all types of issues.. Thus, in recent weeks, the economist has been one of those in charge of defending the controversial packages of measures, which have been received with protests and “bangs” in the streets of Buenos Aires and other cities.

Sturzenegger was “shocked” by the “quick response” of the protesters to the DNU and the so-called Omnibus Law. The truth is that both texts are surprising for their length, more than 400 pages in both cases.

For now, Milei, Sturzeneger and the rest of the members of the Executive have warned Argentines that the DNU and the Omnibus Law are only the first steps in a profound reform of the foundations of the South American country.

The vice president of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, assured this Thursday that his country has “no plan to take offensive actions” against Venezuela, which has described the arrival of a British warship on the Guyanese coast as a “threat.”

“This is not about waging wars, but about better monitoring our exclusive economic zone and (safeguarding) our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the Guyanese vice president said at a press conference.

This is how Jagdeo responded to the decision of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, to order this Thursday “a joint action of a defensive nature in response to the provocation and threat of the United Kingdom against the peace and sovereignty” of Venezuela.

Last Sunday, the United Kingdom announced the sending of the ship HMS Trent to Guyana, a former British colony, as a “show of military and diplomatic support” to the country in its dispute with neighboring Venezuela over the management of the Essequibo.

In this regard, Jagdeo noted that this visit is “routine” and something “planned for a long time that is part of the construction of Guyana's defensive capacity.”.

For this reason, Guyana is not going to reject the ship, as requested by Venezuela.

The vice president also stressed that Guyana is committed to the Argyle Declaration, in which Caracas and Georgetown agreed not to threaten each other and to avoid incidents that would trigger tension over the Essequibo border dispute.

“Nothing we do or have done threatens Venezuela,” Jagdeo emphasized.

However, the Government of Venezuela condemned the arrival of the British warship in Guyana as a “hostile provocation” and a “direct threat to peace.”

For his part, Maduro insisted that it is a “rupture” of the agreements he signed with his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, on December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the so-called Argyle Declaration.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said that he feels “very optimistic” that the dialogue between Venezuela and Guyana will continue in “good spirit”, despite the arrival of the British warship.

“What I hope is that fewer events occur that could lead to an interpretation of provocation or threat,” said Gonsalves, who acts as interlocutor between Caracas and Georgetown.

He also defended that HMS Trent “is not a stranger in the region”, since in the past it has helped in anti-drug operations, human trafficking and search and rescue, and has “a very limited military capacity.”.

The dispute over Essequibo escalated after Venezuela approved on December 3 in a unilateral referendum to annex this region of almost 160,000 square kilometers, which Guyana has controlled since 1966 and whose controversy is in the hands of the International Court of Justice.

The Israeli Army has accepted its “failure” in its mission to rescue the three hostages that Israeli troops killed by mistake in Gaza on December 15, after publishing this Thursday an investigation with more details of the incident.

“The Israeli forces failed in their mission to rescue the hostages,” and “the entire chain of command feels responsible,” said the Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, in the conclusions of the investigations carried out by the Army that have been published. released this Thursday.

According to Halevi, “the attacks on the captives could have been avoided,” since “in a situation where there is no immediate threat and no clear enemy is identified, a moment of examination is necessary before shooting.” “This is necessary to avoid, among other things, incidents in which our forces fire on our forces,” he added.

As he acknowledged, in the case of the three dead hostages, they “did not move threateningly and were holding a white flag,” so it would have been “correct to confirm the identification before shooting,” but “the pressure conditions and the operational environment made it difficult for soldiers to implement these measures. However, the Israeli Army is not expected to take disciplinary action against the soldiers who killed the three captives.

“They didn't hear the order”

According to the military investigation, one of the hostages, Yotam Haim, was shot a quarter of an hour after soldiers operating in the Shijayia neighborhood of Gaza City had already shot the two other hostages, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz. According to the investigations themselves, Haim fled after the shots were fired at the two other captives, and “approximately 15 minutes later, the battalion commander heard cries in Hebrew for 'help.'”

After that, “he gave orders to suspend fire, shouting in Hebrew 'come to us,'” after which the hostage “emerged from a building toward the Israeli forces,” but “two soldiers, who did not hear the order” to cease the fire “due to the noise of a nearby tank, they shot and killed him.”

According to the investigation, before they were killed by mistake, the hostages “were walking shirtless, and one of them was waving a white flag, standing at a point of limited visibility with respect to the position of the soldier who shot.”

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, called this Thursday to continue strengthening his country's nuclear capacity and intensify preparations for war in the face of “unprecedented” tension on the Korean peninsula.

During the second day held on Wednesday of a notable plenary session that the single North Korean party is holding these days towards the end of the year, Kim explained the tasks to be carried out by the army and the sectors of the ammunition, nuclear weapons and civil defense industries. , who were instructed to “further accelerate war preparations,” the state news agency KCNA reported today.

Kim made this call “based on an in-depth analysis of the serious political and military situation on the Korean Peninsula, which has reached an extreme point unprecedented in history due to the confrontational movements of the United States and its vassal forces.” , according to details published this Thursday by said medium.

The North Korean marshal also defended his country's right to expand and develop strategic cooperation “with anti-imperialist countries”, in an apparent veiled reference to the criticism received for its recent rapprochement with Beijing and Moscow, and to participate in the “anti-imperialist struggle” international scale.

The Workers' Party inaugurated this plenary session on Tuesday, which is still unknown when it will end, to review the implementation of the policies proposed this year and establish the strategy for 2024, “a decisive year” for the fulfillment of the regime's current five-year plan. said Kim, in which he advocated at the time to strengthen his weapons development.

The North Korean leader spoke of the need to further consolidate the organizational and ideological foundations of the party and to adapt to the developing situation, as well as to implement its strategy “through a more courageous and determined struggle despite the growing challenges and difficulties”.

In addition to these issues that outline the direction that Pyongyang's foreign policy will take, Kim also spoke in front of party members about “the issues that should be prioritized” to strengthen the country's political, labor or economic system.

Kim called to strengthen “key” industrial sectors such as steel, chemicals, electricity, coal and machinery, and to accelerate rural development and stabilize agricultural production, prioritizing the development of regional industries and fishing, among others. areas.

The Israeli armed forces and illegal settlers have committed serious human rights violations in the West Bank since October 7, which caused at least 300 deaths (79 of them children) and included illegal arrests and mistreatment of detainees, a report denounced this Thursday. of the United Nations.

The document from the UN Human Rights Office demands that Israel “stop the use of military weapons in law enforcement operations in the West Bank, arbitrary detentions and mistreatment of Palestinians, by lifting discriminatory movement restrictions.” .

Of the 300 deaths according to the report, 291 died at the hands of the Israeli Security Forces, and the rest were murdered by settlers, although there is one case in which there are doubts about the authorship.

In that sense, the document reports that the settlers sometimes act accompanied by Israeli security forces or they themselves wear supposed uniforms of that body.

Just this Thursday, two Palestinians died in the occupied West Bank during separate incidents, the first in the morning during an Israeli Army operation and the second after being shot by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The report indicates that in the first weeks after the terrorist attacks of October 7, up to six daily incidents involving settlers were recorded, such as shootings, arson of houses and vehicles, and destruction of trees and crops.

“The UN Office documented multiple cases of settlers attacking Palestinians while harvesting their olives, forcing them off their land, stealing their harvest, and poisoning or vandalizing the olive trees,” the report said.

Humiliation and sexual violence

It also denounces that Israeli forces have detained more than 4,700 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 40 journalists, and on many occasions subjected them to mistreatment. “Some were forced to strip naked, they were blindfolded and for hours they were restrained with handcuffs and their legs tied, while Israeli soldiers stepped on their heads or backs,” he said.

“They were spat on, pushed against walls, threatened, insulted, humiliated and in some cases were victims of sexual and gender violence,” the report added.

“The abuses documented in this report echo the patterns and nature of others in the past, in the context of Israel's long occupation of the West Bank, but the intensity of the current violence and repression has not been seen in years,” commented the senior UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.

“I call on Israel to take immediate, clear and effective measures to end settler violence against the Palestinian population, to investigate incidents by settlers and Israeli forces, and to ensure the protection of Palestinian communities against any form of of forced displacement,” he added.

The Austrian high commissioner also urged Israel to allow his office access to the country, assuring that he was willing to prepare similar reports on the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7, which were the trigger for the current conflict.

A “ridiculous” report

For his part, Tal Heinrich, spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, said Thursday that the report is “quite ridiculous.”. The document, he added, shows facts that the Israeli Government knows, such as that “the Palestinians are arming” teenagers to confront the Israeli Army.

The spokesperson criticized that the document does not take into account the threats faced by Israeli forces in areas of the occupied West Bank such as Judea and Samaria, where they act to “keep that front as calm as possible.”

Heinrich added that the Islamist group Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have strongholds there, which he blamed for the disruption to the daily lives of Palestinians caused by the Israeli Army's controls. Regarding the settlers, he assured that attacks on Palestinians show “a significant decrease in an almost marginal phenomenon.”

He also commented that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reiterated that no one can take justice into their own hands and those who violate the law regardless of their religious or political beliefs will be prosecuted.

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the main trade union center in Argentina, called this Thursday for a general strike for next January 24 in protest against the extensive reforms promoted by the Government of Javier Milei.

As reported by the union in a statement, a mobilization was also called in front of the headquarters of the National Congress, among other protest measures for that day.

Extensive renovations

The strike comes after Milei sent this Wednesday to the National Congress a bill to declare a state of emergency in the economy and in many other areas until the end of 2025.

This project also includes, among other points, a reform of electoral regulations, changes in the Penal Code to control street demonstrations and powers for the Executive to privatize public companies.

Furthermore, on December 21 on a national network to announce the signing of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) for a massive reform of laws and the deregulation of numerous economic regimes.

The Argentine media referred to the document as “a megadecree” because its 83 pages contemplate the reform of more than 300 regulations to lay “the foundations for the reconstruction of the Argentine economy and return freedom and autonomy to individuals, taking away the State above”.