553: From the Indian Plains to the Andes Mountains
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
Release Date: 02/04/2025
576: The Myth Of The Narco
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
In order to understand the issue of the cocaine trade in Colombia, we need to look at three factors: 1. Drugs Policy as a Geopolitical tool. 2. Markets: A Political Economic issue. 3. Narratives: the Myth of the Narco. On the Colombia Calling podcast this week we speak to Estefanía Ciro Rodríguez, expert on drug politics, the cocaine economy and the Colombian armed conflict. We discuss la Escombrera in Medellin, Pablo Escobar, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Arms trafficking by the Sinaloa cartel and the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación to Colombia, genetically modified coca, cocaine seizures,...
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575: The Rise of the Tren de Aragua: A Deep Dive
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
This conversation on the Colombia Calling podcast delves into the complexities of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization that has evolved significantly over the years. Chris Dalby, an expert on organized crime, discusses the origins of the gang, its relationship with the Venezuelan government, and how it has adapted to the migration crisis. The conversation also addresses misconceptions about Tren de Aragua in the U.S., particularly regarding its alleged connections to terrorism and its impact on Venezuelan migrants. Dalby emphasizes the need for a nuanced understanding of the...
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574: Andrei Gómez Suárez discusses peace dialogues and writing as he reflects on the Colombian conflict
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
In this episode of the Colombia Calling podcast, host Richard McColl speaks with Andres Gomez Suarez about his new book 'We Are Not Made of Sugar', which reflects on his childhood experiences during the violence in Colombia, particularly the genocide of the Patriotic Union. They discuss the importance of memory work, reconciliation, and the ongoing peace processes in Colombia, including negotiations with the Comuneros del Sur. The conversation delves into the personal and collective impacts of violence, the role of peace building, and the challenges faced in creating a sustainable peace...
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573: Richard McColl reads from his book: "The Mompos Project: A Story of Love, Hotels and Madness in Colombia."
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
When British foreign correspondent Richard McColl purchased, on a whim, a ruined colonial building in the rural Colombian town of Mompós, he imagined a lifestyle of relaxation, with idle afternoons reading the works of Gabriel García Márquez, writing glib observations and enjoying the hypnotic momentum of a Caribbean tropical narrative, swaying in a hammock and the promise of an ice cold beer never far away. He was mistaken. His first restoration yields a hostel, which later becomes a hotel and then spirals into further projects including the restoration of three more colonial houses,...
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572: Álvaro Uribe: The Early Years and Rise to Power, 1952-1994
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
Few figures in Latin American politics polarize opinion like Colombia’s former president, Álvaro Uribe. Right now, Uribe, Colombia’s president from 2002 to 2010, faces charges of bribery, procedural fraud, and bribery in a judicial proceeding. Prosecutors must determine whether he instigated others to manipulate witness testimony in an attempt to mislead the judiciary for his benefit. So, along with Adriaan Alsema, director of Colombia Reports, we take a deep dive into the "early years" from Uribe's birth in Salgar, Antioquia and up until his campaign to become...
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571: Forty Days Lost in the Colombian Amazon
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
Remember the story that made the headlines for several weeks about the four Huitoto children, lost for forty days in the Colombian Amazon after the aircraft they were travelling in crashed? Well, our friend Mat Youkee has written the definitive book on this event, a triumph of the human spirit and survival, but he also delves into the history of the Amazon, the exploitation and mythicism therein. Tune in to a fantastic episode detailing the lives of the four Mucutuy children, the lives of many indigenous families of the area, their struggles in the armed conflict and much more. Buy the book! ...
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570: The True Story of how DEA Agents brought down the Cali Cartel
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
Former DEA agent Chris Feistl and literary collaborator Jessica Balboni discuss the new book: "After Escobar: Taking Down the Notorious Cali Godfathers and the Biggest Drug Cartel in History," on the Colombia Calling podcast with Richard McColl and Emily Hart. Arriving in Colombia in 1994, a year after Pablo Escobar had been killed, Chris Feistl was charged with the task of dismantling the all-powerful Cali cartel. In this new book, he details his failures, successes and close calls. Jessica Balboni joins us as well to discuss the writing process. Buy the book! Chris Feistl was a DEA...
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569: La Escombrera: Colombia's Largest Urban Mass Grave
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
La Escombrera, a vast rubble pile overlooking Medellín, is considered to be Colombia’s largest urban mass grave. Its excavation this year has unearthed the remains of people whose families have been searching for them for decades. Earlier this month, it was announced that the excavation there is being expanded. Some hope that what is found in that rubble will answer deeper questions - about how the conflict unfolded here in the city, and how the state was complicit in murders and human rights violations committed by paramilitary groups. This week, Emily Hart, journalist and Colombia...
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568: Coaching collaboration and solidarity in Colombia
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
Heather Luna, a native of Michigan with strong ties to Colombia, spent a significant time in the UK before moving to Tabio. Since then, she has been working remotely offering consultations, consulting and workshops and showing people the value of collaboration and solidarity. Her work has embraced questions of identity - including her own -, environmental causes and human rights causes and now she is moving across from a solely anglophone audience to a Colombian one as well. We discuss what it means to grow up half Colombian, not speaking Spanish, connecting to extended family...
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567: Early Onset Alzheimer's Investigated and Revealed in Colombia
Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia
It's an absolute honour to welcome author Jennie Erin Smith on the Colombia Calling podcast this week to discuss her latest book in which she investigates and chronicles her six-year investigation into the phenomenon of early onset Alzheimer's in rural Colombia. Jennie speaks to Emily Hart and Richard McColl. In the 1980s, a Colombian neurologist named Francisco Lopera traveled on horseback into the mountains seeking families with symptoms of dementia. For centuries, residents of certain villages near Medellín had suffered memory loss as they reached middle age, going on to die in their...
info_outlineSometimes, it's just fun to have an agreeable conversation, and this is why I enjoyed chatting to Vivek Jayaraman.
Vivek was born in Tamil, India and in the way life takes its unusual routes has ended up living in northern Bogota and with a love of mountains - he's from the plains - and a firm desire to know and understand the regions of Cundinamarca and Boyacá, Colombia.
In his words: "Thus was born Project Boyacá and Project Cundinamarca. The idea being that I visit all the 123 and 116 municipalities atleast once.
"People associate this part of the world with drugs, violence and the remote jungles. My attempt is to try and change this perception, taking into account that Colombia is my wife's home country.
"I got fascinanted by small towns having grown up in similar places back in India. It was equally impressive to see names of the towns that can trace their origins to the indigenous culture of Muisca that dominated this region - Guachetá, Guachetá, Machetá for example - Chetá refers to farmlands. The indigenous origin is not too appreciated here I also wanted to create awareness of these.
"My wife is from Guachetá, Cundinamarca which is believed the town of the Son of Sun - Goranchacha, which she did not know before I met her.
"Eventually I want to have a repository of these travels in a website with photographs, Instagram being an easy way. I have made 100 posts each year 2022 onwards. I was this close to create a calendar last year with photos from specific regions, then it was too expensive and too late. This being, the idea of India through the eyes of India."
What a wonderful story, you'll agree.
The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.