One of the largest protected sections of the Amazon will receive long-term funding of at least $1 million USD per year for the next 30 years from the German Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF), in partnership with the Frankfurt Zoological Society, to help protect the Serranía de Chiribiquete National Natural Park, a vast conservation area in the Amazon that was established in 1989.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro revealed the news in a recent announcement, highlighting the great beauty and remarkable biodiversity of Chiribiquete, which was was expanded in 2018 to cover 17,000 square miles (43,000 square kilometers) and stands as Colombia’s largest national park. At the same time as the expansion, it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The fund, named “Chiribiquete, a landscape forever,” is described by Colombia’s National Natural Parks department as being for “at least 30 years and possible in perpetuity” and includes provisions to help strengthen the “participation of indigenous communities and local governments” while “promoting the sustainable and effective governance of the park in the long term.”

Chiribiquete, which is known for its gorgeous, towering mastiff cliffs known as tepuis situated within giant expanses of lush green jungle, was selected among several park candidates in part due to the “exceptionally preserved integrity of its ecosystems,” according to National Natural Parks.”

Susana Muhamad, minister of environment and sustainable development, called the fund a “milestone for environmental cooperation” and will allow the nation to go beyond “just declaring protected areas” and actually protecting them with “real management.”

Beyond the gorgeous natural beyond and near-unparalleled biodiversity found in a park that sits amid the coming together of the Amazon, Andes, Orinoco, and Guyana ecosystems, it is thought to contain upwards of 75,000 petroglyphs and pictographs, or art and writing drawn on rock and cliff faces by indigenous people dating back as far as 20,000 BCE, according to UNESCO.

“In the face of the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, the conservation of protected areas is a priority,” said Esperanza Leal, director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Colombia.

“Having a long-term financing strategy ensures that, together with resources from the national government and other initiatives, preserving Chiribiquete forever is a possible goal. We must work together so that management decisions contribute to the strengthening of social and institutional governance, control of threats, informed decision-making and effective coordination, for the care of this territory — now and always.”

Photo: Chiribiquete National Park in Colombia. (Credit: Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia)

BPrO, the leading business process outsourcing (BPO) association in Colombia, will host Customer Experience Summit 2024 (CX Summit) in Cartagena from May 8-9 to bring together top industry leaders and experts for two days of discussion and exhibitions centered around the customer experience.

Photo: Ana Karina Quessep, president of BPrO, on stage at CX Summit in 2023. (Credit: BPrO)

This year’s event will dive into a range of current trends affecting the sector with a specific focus on how trust intersects with customer service and user experience.

“Professionals will share their experiences and provide the necessary tools to understand and strengthen this crucial aspect in business and customer service strategies,” noted BPrO when announcing the upcoming event. “The focus will be on highlighting the importance of trust in customer relationships, from transparency in communication to the consistent delivery of quality products and services, underlining its critical role in business success.”

According to Ana Karina Quessep, president of BPrO, companies are no longer looking to simply carry out routine transactions — but to transform every interaction into an authentic and meaningful experience for their customers.

“At BPrO, we recognize this shift in focus and are hosting the CX Summit to showcase the latest trends in customer experience, emerging technologies, and the importance of business trust,” she said. “Additionally, it is a great space for networking and building business relationships and, with this event, we seek to promote innovation, business confidence, and excellence in all economic sectors.”

 

 

Prominent Speakers at CX Summit 2024

During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and learn from some of the most prominent speakers in the world of experience, including the following represent noteworthy presenters.

Beth Davies

With more than 25 years of experience at innovative companies such as Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and Gap, Davies is recognized for her ability to cultivate distinctive company cultures and create customer-centric organizations. As Director of Learning and Development at Tesla (2011 to 2017), she played a crucial role in growing the company from 600 to 33,000 employees. In addition to promoting the company’s culture to preserve its identity in the face of rapid staff growth, it implemented methods to ensure rapid adaptation of new employees and their prompt operational integration. During her speech, she will share inspiring stories and practical lessons from his career, offering attendees a unique insight into the importance of customer experience in business success.

Millán Ludeña

Recognized as the most influential motivational speaker in Ecuador — and one of the main inspirational references in all of Latin America — Ludeña is famous for his extreme feats. His most notable were documented in the movie “From Core to Sun,” in which he connects the lowest point on Earth with the closest point to the sun in less than 72 hours, which was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. He was also awarded the U.S. Air Force’s Blue Horizon Medal, where his story served as an inspiration to elite pilots around the world.

Gerd Leonhard

This will mark the first visit to Colombia by Leonhard, who is considered to among the top 10 futuristic speakers in the world as well as a leader in digital ethics. He will explore the challenges and opportunities facing customer service in the digital age. With a focus on foresight, future-proof leadership, and resilience in the face of uncertainty, Leonhard will offer attendees unique insight into the role of technology in the customer experience.

Carlos Páez

Páez is a survivor of the plane crash in the Andes and a true example of determination and self-improvement. In his lecture he will address topics related to leadership, teamwork and adapting to change, based on his 72-day experience in the Andes Mountains. In addition, his talk will focus on the importance of trust, a vital element to work optimally, together and efficiently as a team. The speaker believes that trust is established by generating a common purpose in which risks are taken and solutions are proposed in an assertive manner.

More speakers

The event will also feature the participation of national and regional speakers such as Héctor Orozco, General Director of Arcos Dorados Colombia (McDonald’s); David Escobar, director of Comfama; Catalina Irurita, expert in Marketing and Communications; Magda Galindo, vice president of Promigas; Estanislao Bachrach, PhD in molecular biology and outstanding popularizer of neurosciences, self-knowledge, and the management of emotions.

CX Interaction Awards

CX Summit 2024 will also feature the prestigious CX Interaction Awards, an annual recognition given to outstanding companies in customer engagement. These companies have demonstrated excellence in various processes, thus contributing to the success of their organizations and promoting interaction with customers in all sectors of the economy.

With top draws including the awards presentation, the exhibition hall, and the wide range of expert panels and presentations, the event is expected to bring together more than 1,200 industry leaders.

Attendees will get the chance to rub elbows with many top professionals shaping the sector, including CEOs, presidents, general managers, directors and managers from various areas, representing sectors such as telecommunications, mass consumption, retail, technology, healthcare, insurance, finance, tourism, BPO, contact centers and government.

50-year old US citizen Brandon Seth Wood was captured by Colombian National Police last week with a 15-year-old girl in a building in the Aranjuez neighborhood of Medellín, Colombia. According to Colombia’s attorney general, the evidence was enough that Wood is being held without bond. Prosecutors say that Wood contacted the girl using social media to arrange to pay for sex, and that Wood also offered the girl narcotics.

#Medellín | Envían a la cárcel a un ciudadano estadounidense identificado como Brandon Seth Wood, por el delito de demanda de explotación sexual comercial con un menor de edad.

Ampliación en https://t.co/l1e7QwzG8J pic.twitter.com/gXbizLlgO8

— Red+ Noticias (@RedMasNoticias) April 27, 2024

Finance Colombia was able to determine that a US citizen with the same name, and with ties to both Clearwater, Florida and Ohio had his license to practice as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) revoked in 2020 due to cocaine abuse (Florida case 201626767, Department of health license CH9075), though at time of publication it is inconclusive whether this is the same individual.

Medellín’s Mayor Federico “Fico” Gutierrez is leading a campaign to crack down on sex tourism and vice in Colombia’s second largest city, and in the first four months of 2024 there have been many arrests, including at least nine high-profile arrest of foreign sex-tourists. While prostitution is not criminalized in Colombia, organizing prostitution, or “pimping” is illegal, and sexual contact with minors is strictly prohibited and subject to severe punishment.

US automaker General Motors (GM.N) has announced its decision to discontinue manufacturing operations in Colombia and Ecuador. In a statement released last Friday, the company revealed that it will cease production at its Colmotores plant in Colombia immediately, and at its Ecuador facility by the end of August.

The decision impacts 850 workers in Colombia, for whom GM is currently seeking approval from the country’s labor ministry to proceed with layoffs. GM noted that its Colombia plant was operating at just 9% capacity, while its Ecuador plant was running at 13% capacity.

Colombia’s labor ministry will conduct a series of inspections at the plant to safeguard workers’ rights, the ministry said in a statement.

“For the Ministry of Labor and as the National Government we are committed to the defense of labor rights, for this reason I have given the instruction to the Directorate of Inspection, Surveillance and Control, to carry out a series of visits to the plant to inspect working conditions. and verify that the standards required by law are met,” said Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez Ríos.

The plant closures come against a backdrop of a 14-year low in new vehicle sales in Colombia, as reported by industry groups earlier this year. With a dollarized economy, Ecuador does not benefit from a cheap local currency, while in Colombia, weak consumption and uncertainty around Gustavo Petro’s proposed labor, pension and health reforms have put brakes on consumer spending and new foreign investment.

Despite the manufacturing shutdowns, General Motors plans to maintain a presence in both Colombia and Ecuador through its network of dealerships, and insists it will continue to sell vehicles in the Andean nations.

Federico: Good morning, everyone. We are joined by General Lamprea (Oscar Andrés Lamprea Pinzón), commander of the Metropolitan Police of El Valle de Aburrá (Medellín metropolitan region); we are joined by Manuel Villa as Secretary of Security. We are going to be talking jointly about the case of the US citizen Stefan Andres Correa, apprehended last Friday at the Miami airport. You, as media, have been broadcasting part of what was found in the chats, the information that he had on his cellphones; the reason for which he was finally apprehended, and that avoided the entrance of this depraved criminal into our country, into our city, where he was coming to abuse several minors.

But we would like to give some more context to the public opinion and to the country, and it’s that this case, of the US citizen Stefan Andres Correa, is related directly to the Timothy Alan case. This capture is a product of the investigation done in an inter-agency manner with the national police and the intelligence and justice agencies of the US government. Remember that approximately 10 days ago, I had a meeting with the ambassador of the United States, Francisco Palmieri, with his whole team. All the intelligence agencies of the US government were there. Regional director of the FBI for the region was there, the HSI directors for the region were there, the directors of all the customs, military and migration agencies; joined as well by our national police led by General Lamprea in said meeting.

See Also: Miami Pharmacist Captured Attempting To Fly To Colombia To Sexually Abuse Minors

The conjoined work between the Municipality of Medellín, the national police and all intelligence and justice agencies of the United States starts to take effect with the capture of Stefan Andres Correa. Part of the discussion was how to stop these people, from the US territory, and with other nationalities too, in other countries, where there is already information that they are involved in the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers, and make it so this network of degenerates can’t even get on a plane from their countries to get here to cause damage. And that is part of the information we have been sharing already with different agencies, and we want to expressly thank our national police; the American government, headed by (Ambassador) Francisco Palmieri; his whole team; the director and the entire HSI team for the region. And I want you and the country to know how we got to Stefan Andres Correa.

A criminal that had already entered our country 45 times, since 2022; how is it possible that a man like this had the capacity to cause so much damage for so many years against our children, and no one ever did anything? Why? Because this was a topic that was kept hidden during the four previous years (the administration of Daniel Quintero), while it grew dramatically. And there is not only irresponsibility and apathy, but also complicity with all these criminals. It was known they were coming into our city and into our country to abuse our children. When they had the responsibility to care for our children, they did nothing, they turned a blind eye and did nothing for our children. And what happened? The phenomenon grew. More and more of these people continued to arrive, who believed they could continue to come into our country and into our city to do whatever they wanted, and that’s how they treated it. Because for a long time, they did whatever they wanted. But their party is over now.

Because we are not going to hide the reality that we have started to fight since the 1st of January, which we have shown, and it is clear to us that it’s continuing to happen, and with a lot of intensity. But we are giving concrete results in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers. We are not going to deny the problem. But the world can’t believe either that this only happens in Medellín. It happens in the whole world. The difference is that in Medellín we are already fighting it, and that’s why the eyes are on our city today. And yes, we are going to fight this battle to the end. Because this fight is just beginning.

And how did we get to Stefan Andres Correa? Thanks to our national police, thanks to the intelligence agencies of the US government, and thanks to this conjoined work with the Municipality of Medellín. It’s how the investigators directly, coming from Ohio as well, where Timothy Alan is, fully identified, with a blue notice; will be made to answer to the American and Colombian justice.  While doing the interviews, our national police, our national general prosecutors too, and also the American agents…In the last days, when the victims of Timothy Alan are interviewed, they reach this man’s information, Stefan Andres Correa, who was the one that paid to hire, who paid for the food for the girls, in different parts of the city, to continue to sexually exploit them.

We are not facing isolated cases here. We are facing a human trafficking network with the purpose of sexual exploitation of children and teenagers. And this is not just one more case, it is not an isolated case. It’s a network that has to be dismantled completely. And I want to tell you that thanks to this technical proof, thanks to the work of the police, the prosecutors, and of intelligence agencies of the US government, and justice agencies of several states, where Florida is included, where Cleveland and Ohio are included, what happens precisely is the capture of this criminal that is part of the network.

45 entrances into our country since 2022. You just have to look at the chats of this depraved man, that are sickening as a society. But I also want to make a call to society. Today we are all outraged reading these chats, but I ask, where have we been as a society? Where has society been, rejecting what was already going on, which everyone turned a blind eye to? Authorities turned a blind eye for four years, and they didn’t get involved in an issue that was evident in the streets of our city, and that happened frequently. This man would come not only with his cellphones, but with the cellphones that he had promised the victims as a form of payment. Where, depending on the level of aberration he could reach with our minors, he paid them more or less, or arranged 300,000 pesos plus the cellphones.

What was avoided here thanks to the articulated work we have been doing, with the police, with the prosecutors, with the municipality, and with international agencies of the US government, it’s that the abuse of a minimum of four minors was avoided. But this network has to fall apart completely. And the first thing I want to say is that the investigation is ongoing, and the investigation is really moving forward in an inter-agency manner.

And this is a two-sided investigation, carried out in Colombia and in the United States, where there are Colombian and American citizens. And this hit against this American citizen captured at the Miami Airport is part of an ongoing operation. There are many more people linked to this process, both American and Colombian citizens, people who would also help out here in Colombia, and directly in Medellin; some of them identified, who would help with the recruitment of children. The modus operandi is, once they start recruiting one, recruiting two, they start taking them directly from their homes. They become truant. They fall into so many issues related to addictions, drugs, all the harassment…and they end up being a part of this network. And at the same time, the same girls and boys that are exploited are the ones in charge of, in this dark network, of searching in parks, in different areas of the city, and in educational institutions, making offers to their friends and classmates for them to go with them to those same activities. This has to pain all of us. And this has to horrify us as a society. This is not just another case, this is a case in which we are discussing structural issues. And like we announced on the Timothy case, we are not going to rest, and that is why the American agents have already come to conduct the interviews, and thanks to that, the information on this other pervert is gathered; this Stefan Andres Correa, who is facing a sentence of a minimum of fifteen years in the US, and permanent surveillance for life.

But entrance has already been denied to this one. My message is very clear, I want to tell anyone who wants to come to our country, or any person or any Colombian that wants to come to our city, that they are very welcome, but not welcome to do that. That if they have the intention of jeopardizing our children, we are going to chase them relentlessly. That is a decision we have already made. These are trafficking networks, and do not forget many of them are linked to drug trafficking networks. And here come, within the operations, many forceful legal actions, within the investigations carried out by the police and the prosecution, headed by General Lamprea. Here come harsh topics. Not only are captures coming, but the extinction of domains (civil forfeiture) on those real estate properties that have been used for these human trafficking networks, exploiting our children and teenagers.

I want to send a message. And not only to the authorities; the authorities are already coordinated, and we are working together. I want to give a message to society: This cannot keep happening before all of our eyes. These strange behaviors of people who go looking for children in parks, schools…Someone must have seen something, and for so long nobody has ever said anything. We must be horrified as a society, but so as to take action. To get more reports, so that our police can continue to act. In the last few days, there have been more captures carried out by the police and the prosecution. Unfortunately, as for the case of the Chinese citizen (“David” Zhen Liu), he was set free, but the process continues. And we are not going to rest until we get all the evidence against these depraved people. And I want to make it very clear: Whoever messes with our children is messing with all of us as a society. And the last message is to the heads of the family. Mothers and fathers, where are you? Where are we, as a society? What needed to happen to get us to this point? And I want all of us to look out for our children together, and I want to thank you as media. Because you have spoken up too, because you need to help us a lot with this, because we need everyone to come together.

We came from launching the program ‘Tejiendo Hogares.’ (Sewing homes) Because today, this social decay has an origin, and it is the homes. And it’s time to invest not only in the front facade, but also the one inside. We need to restore the families; we need to restore the values. And let’s not keep the discussion as a country about left, right or center-wings, that’s useless. Ideologies divide, values unite. And, at least in this case, the youth should be the ones to unite us as a society. Let’s fight together. Political and social sectors, we may be different, but that does not contribute anything. We can have different ideas. But this is a battle we all need to fight.

What you have seen, and what society has seen surrounding a few chats, which have been of public knowledge, of these degenerates, like I’ve said, is just the tip of the iceberg. It is sad to see what we have come to as a society. It hurts. That’s why as a municipality and as administration, and like I’ve said, I am fighting this battle with the tools I have as Medellín’s mayor, but with the conviction of a citizen and a family man. And I know that is how my General is doing it too, I know that is how Manuel does it as Secretary of Security, and I know that all of you, who are with us today, from the media, who are also parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, will help us fight that battle. And may those who are listening or watching us, also be convinced that this is a fight for all of us as a society.

I want to thank my General, Lamprea; our national police…Greetings to General Salamanca; to Colonel Cubides, director of DIPRO, who is also at the head of these operations; to the US ambassador, Francisco Palmieri, thank you for the commitment; to all the directors of the intelligence and justice agencies from the United States, which are connected to this inter-agency work. Thank you. With timely and quick action, a lot of abuse against the children of our city was avoided. And this is just the beginning. This is a battle that is just beginning. But do me a favor, let’s not pretend, or let them say, that this only happens in Medellín. No. This happens all over the world. The big difference is that here we hit a nerve and we do not tolerate the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers.

I will give the floor to my General, and, as I’ve said, this has just begun. This is an ongoing operation, there are many people involved, and we are not going to rest. And to anyone, as has already happened with many of these guys, or like the one who was not even able to board the plane, many people who intended or intend to come to Colombia, to our city, Medellín, to do that: know that you cannot come here to do that. And let it be spread all over the world that this is not allowed here, and it is a crime penalized with up to 25 years in prison in Colombia. Go ahead, General.

General Lamprea: Well, thank you so much Mr. Mayor for this recognition to our national police. We are the ones who have been working hand in hand with different international agencies in order to achieve these results. At the same time, in conjunction and with all the support from this administration. I want to refer to this capture of the American citizen that took place in Miami, for sexual exploitation of children and teenagers in the city of Medellín; a result of the institutional strategy of the National Police, which we called “PAIS”, where the protection of safe adolescence and childhood is always a priority. In coordination with, I insist, with the support of the administration and also the different international agencies that support us and with whom we are coordinated to achieve these results.

This is how the investigation of this citizen, of this capture, is carried out. Because in the frame of the investigation that we carry of Timothy Alan, we are getting these results. This investigation is starting to pay off. This is how on the 18th of this month of April, in the frame of ‘Operation Cazador’, as we have named it, at the Miami Airport, the arrest warrant of this forty-two-year-old American citizen was generated, who also has Ecuadorian citizenship. As required by the US justice, for the crimes of attempting to travel with the intention of taking part in illegal sexual activities; that is the offense he is being charged with in this country. In Colombia, he is being investigated as well for the crimes of child pornography and a lawsuit for sexual exploitation of an underage person.

It also became known that he had over 45 migratory entries to Colombia, with the city of Medellín as his destination. This person intended to travel from Miami to Medellín precisely, or directly. At this moment he is requested by the authorities here, where a computer and nine cellphones were found in his possession, which are now part of the chain of custody, and probably from where they collected important evidentiary material. With all of this, the film content, implicit sexual abuse of minors is evidenced. These elements will be provided through judicial assistance too, to our Attorney General’s Office here in Colombia, to identify and protect the victims, and prosecute those responsible. This person took responsibility for the offenses he is being charged with there, in this country,  of which he has been accused of, and he is under security measures in a prison at this moment, there in Miami.

In the Metropolitan Police of El Valle de Aburrá this year, other details of importance: The National police have captured 80 people for sexual crimes, among which there are 49 that have just been registered in Medellín. It’s also important to point out to all of you that amongst those captures we have also registered six American citizens who came for those practices and have been prosecuted too in different activities and operations in the framework of the strategy we have with the Administration, in all the metropolitan area, and specifically in Medellín.

This is how the National Police has this information, it’s important to note that thanks to that joint work, support, and coordination with these inter-agency agencies in the US, and all the support from the Municipality of Medellin, we have achieved these results. The investigations continue. Probably in this two-side investigation, which we have with the North American authorities, we will continue to provide significant results, both in that country and in Colombia. That’s the information we have on this case, thank you.

Federico: Thank you very much, everyone.

Media: Mayor, a little question.

Federico: Unfortunately I have a meeting with Metro with governance…

Media: Just one. What happened with the person he was communicating with? The pimp. (The Colombian woman who was finding and providing the children as prostitutes)

Federico: It’s part of the investigation. As we said, more captures are coming…

Media: And the families?

Federico: It’s been said.

Media: In this case, are you going to look into them?

Federico: It will all be part of the investigation and also of the social work we have been doing from the mayor’s office. Understand that this has a line of reserve. Thanks to the work the Police have been doing, along with the agencies of the US. It’s a very clear line. This is just the beginning. I want you to understand something. We got to this man thanks to the investigation of Timothy Alan. And from there, all that was just discovered, all the information the intelligence and justice agencies of the US share with the police. All that investigation also comes in addition to structural blocks of trafficking networks that were already being analyzed.

Media: Did he know Timothy? Did they have any…?

Federico: They had the contact already, it was through…

Media: Was it the same one?

Federico: The contact comes thanks to the forensic interviews that the police, the prosecution, and the international agencies do. Keep this in mind. I have already said it all, I will simply explain it a bit here. Remember this guy lives in Ohio. Timothy. There is something that’s called extraterritorial offenses, which is what my general was talking about when finishing the press conference. Those extraterritorial offenses…It does not matter where the crime is committed, even if it is outside the American territory. If they commit a crime for purposes of the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers, they will be held accountable to the same legislation. To get the evidence against Timothy in this two-sided investigation my General mentioned, and the evidence Colombia has… It was necessary for the investigators in Ohio to come here, to Medellín, for the interviews with the girls. That was already done, we were with them already. We have been putting all of that together; everything has been done directly with the ambassador, with the FBI director for the region, Homeland Security, HSI, ICE Agency, INL…which one am I missing? Customs. Look, this is the first time…I say this from experience, with many of you who I got to be with…When we were together at the municipality. We were in a fight against all those drug traffickers alongside the (US) Embassy.

Not even then there was as much articulation as now. When we were in a meeting with the ambassador and General, there was not a single agency absent at that table. And they were the coordinators not only for Colombia, but for the whole region. I mean…This has just begun. Keep that in mind. This is a network that will start to fall apart. There are American citizens, there are citizens of other nationalities, there are Colombians who have lent themselves to this. And what we need to protect the most is having a very clear identity of the children, because in the videos, as my General said, there is explicit content of sexual abuse against them, and we need to identify these children very carefully in order to establish their rights. So this has just begun. What we wanted to make very clear is where this is headed and where it starts from. Remember one of the strategies with the US government is to ask for all the databases they have on pimps, pedophiles, people who sexually abuse, so they can’t even get on a plane from there. That they can’t get on it is already part of the result of the request. This…Understand my General has to maintain some reservations about that too.

Media: The General cannot say on camera all that about the interviews they came to conduct here and how they found Timothy?

Federico: No, I have already said so. I have already explained. I have explained it fully. Look what is in there. What I am saying is, and all I have said and want you to understand, is that this is going to be part of a structural thing: everything’s there. I said it. How we moved things forward, how we worked together with American agencies, but directly coordinated with the Police, with my General. How the tracking and the interviews conducted by the police and the prosecution start, and the justice and the investigators who come from Ohio. They interview the children and that is why we were able to get to this guy. The one they captured in Miami.

Media: Did the other guys have any relation to any structures in Medellín, would they be sponsored…?

Federico: Let that be continued in the investigation. Let that continue, because all sorts of things are coming. But yes, there is a relation with people who have lent themselves to this. In many areas of the city. The pimps.

Media: Mayor, do you know what this guy did in the US? For work?

Federico: I don’t know if you want to answer anything else, I think that’s everything…

Lamprea: Yes, well, let’s say, contextualizing a little bit what the Mayor was saying, it is important to to point out too that as a result of all that was done: the prevention part, control, dissuasion, the investigative part; all this coordination we have done. Even what we did a few days ago with the Mayor at the Rionegro airport. A preventive strategy was launched there. There we are joined by INTERPOL. We are there with them, and working alongside Migración Colombia, where they are already managing a series of databases to start not only identifying them since they leave from different countries, but also when they get here, to Colombia, and precisely to Medellín. This person’s profile…He’s a pharmacist that was there and worked at that directly in the US. Well, that’s as far as the context of the investigation. I do not know any precise details at the moment, because that part is for the investigators, and what we have just said is what we can say, in accordance with what the head investigators have expressed. That is it.

Media: By the way, General, or Mayor; have the American investigators found the location, have they found Timothy Alan in Ohio? Because in an interview on Univision, the family was saying they did not know this North American’s whereabouts.

Lamprea: What we know so far is that he has already been identified, they already know where he is and he is already taking part in this investigation. They are doing the various controls to this person.

Federico: Thank you very much everyone.

The demise of Viva and Ultra Air last year left a big void in Colombia’s domestic aviation market. Jetsmart was already flying international routes to and from Colombia, but announced that it would create a Colombian subsidiary to fly domestic routes between Colombian destinations.

Jetsmart’s CEO Estuardo Ortiz was on hand, and we were even able to get a few words with him before the flight boarded.

Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss flew their inaugural domestic route last month, between Bogotá and Medellín; his first time ever flying JetSmart. The airline also plans route cooperation with US-based American Airlines, which is a major investor in JetSmart, along with US private equity firm Indigo Partners.

Indigo Partners LLC is a private equity firm established by W. A. Franke in 2003 to pursue acquisitions and strategic investments in the air transportation and related industries. The firm was a lead investor in Tiger Airways based in Singapore and Spirit Airlines based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and maintains lead investments in Wizz Air Holdings, Plc, a ULCC with multiple bases in Central and Eastern Europe; Frontier Airlines, a ULCC based in Denver; Volaris Airlines, a ULCC based in Mexico City; Cebu Pacific, a ULCC based in the Philippines; and JetSMART, a ULCC based in Chile. Indigo is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Have you flown JetSmart? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

General Motors announced that it will be closing its two plants in Bogotá at the cost of around 800 jobs, a crushing example of the problems being faced by the vehicle industry.

GM are not alone, with other manufacturers having also reduced working hours — and this has been a long time coming.

Ever since overnight interest rates started to rise, the consumer confidence data from Fedesarrollo has reported a falling propensity for vehicle purchases, and forecourt sales have collapsed. On top of this, rolling back the clock, Venezuela was once an key importer of vehicles from Colombia, and that is no longer the case.

It is too late for GM. But, hopefully, Banco de la República will this week cut those overnight rates — by at least 50 basis points — from the current 12.25% in order to support not just the vehicle sector but also the housing and consumer durable markets, which have been equally hit by inflation and central bank policy.

Anything less than 50 basis points is unthinkable — and might lead to them being chased down the road by a pitchfork waving population. Anything more would be welcome shot in the arm for both local markets and investors, as the committee has been overtly conservative so far in their rate-cutting cycle.

With El Nin̈o now on the way out, they should cut by 75bps — if they’re brave enough.

Speaking of El Niño, the rains have arrived! Nothing biblical, so far, but certainly more than a normalization. Reservoir levels are rising, but remain close to critically low levels. Bogotá remains under water-rationing conditions, but already there are those discussing the arrival of La Niña and, with it, the reverse problems of potential landslides and floods.

In other news: Colombia has received praise from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as they agreed a new two-year $8.1 billion USD stand by loan. The organization highlighted the country’s institutions and the robust economy while complimenting the government on its efforts to move away from fossil fuels.

Finally, in politics, President Gustavo Petro and his cabinet were locked away in an enclave all weekend as we await pronouncements as to whether there will be any change in direction when it comes to pension, education or even health reform proposals, which may yet reappear in the coming months. However, the initial statement was contrite in nature recognizing that mistakes had been made.

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New York-based credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded its key ratings for UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones S.A. (Tigo UNE).

Specifically, the big three ratings agency upgraded Tigo UNE’s long-term national rating from to AA(col) from A-(col) and its short-term national rating to F1+(col) from F2(col). The long-term rating was also upgraded from “evolving” to “stable.”

Other ratings upgrades included a positive move for the telecom’s domestic public debt bond program rating to AA(col) from A-(col) and its commercial paper rating to F1+(col) from F2(col).

“The improvements in the ratings and the stabilization of the outlook reflect the strengthening in Tigo UNE’s liquidity, evidenced by the capitalizations made in 2023 by its two shareholders, Millicom International Cellular S.A. and Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM),” stated Fitch in a note.

The agency added that it also factored in “revenues from recent tower sales,” “the demonstrated ability to access bank debt financing,” “the company’s governance structure,” and a projected “improvement in Tigo UNE’s free cash flow generation over the rating horizon as a result of cost control initiatives.”

In it’s full breakdown of Tigo UNE’s ratings factors, Fitch Ratings also published the following details (included here directly as stated by the agency).

Improvement of the Liquidity Position

Tigo UNE’s liquidity was reinforced by capital injections from its shareholders in 2023. This support also allowed the company to take out a new bank loan with Bancolombia S.A. Additionally, in January 2024, the company announced an agreement to sell approximately 1,100 towers to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in a sale-lease transaction with revenue expected next year. Fitch expects the company to refinance its upcoming debt maturities using cash on hand and new bank debt or local bonds.

FFL Trends

Fitch projects that Tigo UNE’s FFL will remain negative in 2024 but gradually improve over the rating horizon as the company implements cost-cutting initiatives to improve EBITDA margins, while spectrum costs should be less of a hurdle as the company benefits from its shared network agreement with Movistar. Tigo UNE’s FFL was under pressure in 2023 due to high levels of spectrum-related capital expenditures (capex), the impact of higher interest expenses, and ongoing competitive challenges in the industry. This led to a liquidity crisis in the second half of 2023 that ultimately resulted in capital injections made by its shareholders.

Corporate Governance

The ratings remain limited by Tigo UNE’s shareholding structure, resulting in a one-notch spread with respect to the individual credit profile. While Millicom and EPM were able to reach an agreement on a capital injection, Fitch is of the opinion that the shareholding structure provides less financial flexibility than its peers due to a more time-consuming process required for financing needs.

Intense Price Competition

The Colombian mobile market is likely to continue to be highly competitive as operators maintain promotional activity to defend their market share. Fitch anticipates that average revenue per user (ARPU) industry will continue to be pressured in the postpaid segment as WOM Colombia S.A.S. (WOM Colombia) looks to become a significant player. The country’s mobile penetration, which exceeds 150% compared to 135% in 2019, is also contributing to lower ARPU. In addition, competition is growing in fixed broadband. Movistar has continued its aggressive promotional strategy to gain share and complete network capacity as demand has slowed after the coronavirus pandemic.

Effective position in the market

Tigo UNE demonstrates relative strength in the fixed residential segment, a solid spectrum position aligned with its coverage strategy and a mobile network development with strong growth in postpaid data users. Fitch believes these factors will help the company mitigate the effects of WOM Colombia’s entry into the country’s mobile market and aggressive promotional activity in the residential segment by its competitor Movistar.

Wide Range of Services

The company’s diversification of services compares well with that of other operators in the region. Tigo UNE is well diversified into home, mobile telephony and business-to-business (B2B) services, with service revenue shares of approximately 35%, 41% and 20%, respectively during 2023. Tigo UNE operates only in the Colombian telecommunications market.

Links between Matrices and Subidiaries

Fitch believes that Tigo UNE has a weaker PCI compared to Millicom. Based on Fitch’s linkage factor assessment, the legal, strategic, and operational incentives are assessed as low and, consequently, an increase in Tigo UNE’s rating is not considered. The company’s ratings incorporate weak ties to both EPM and Millicom. The ratings of both entities are limited by sovereign risks, the former as an entity related to the Colombian government and the latter by the majority of its cash flows from speculative-grade countries. While Tigo UNE is structured as a joint venture (JV) 50/50, of the two parent entities, Millicom exerts greater influence.

 

Today, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that on April 19, a local pharmacist was charged by criminal complaint with attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to the criminal complaint and the underlying affidavit, law enforcement officers stopped Stefan Andres Correa, 42, of Miami, Florida, attempting to board a flight from Miami to Bogota, Colombia. It is alleged that, law enforcement officers discovered nine cellular phones in Correa’s possession containing videos of Correa engaging in intercourse with purported minor children, as well as a chat exchange with a suspected sex trafficker, where Correa allegedly paid for commercial sex with children aged between 10 to 12 years old in Colombia. According to the allegations, during the chat exchange, Correa agreed with the suspected sex trafficker to meet with the minor victims once he arrived in Colombia.

This document is reprinted from the US Attorney’s Office. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Correa made his initial appearance on April 19. A detention hearing is scheduled for today, April 23, at 10:00 a.m. If convicted, Correa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life in prison as well as up to a lifetime of supervised release. The charges he is facing are 18:1591.F and 18:1594.F Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor and 18:2423.F Attempted Travel to Engage in Illicit Sex Conduct

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami made the announcement.

HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from HSI offices in Cleveland, Ohio, and Bogota, Colombia, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogota, Colombia, also provided critical assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Astigarraga-Little is prosecuting it.

To read the full complaint (federal charges), click here.

A criminal complaint contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate better, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org. The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages. The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration, or an investigative agency. Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential, and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.

To report online child sexual exploitation visit https://report.cybertip.org/ or call 1-800-843-5678. The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in partnership with HSI and other law enforcement agencies.

To learn more about the National Resource Hotline, visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking, visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at https://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-mj-02786.

On Sunday, we saw the promised — and welcome — protests across the country against some of President Gustavo Petro’s reforms.

Street demonstrations are part of any healthy democracy and I have been in Colombia long enough to remember when as a population this country never bothered to protest against anything.

Photo: President Gustavo Petro speaking at the World Economic Forum in January 2023. (Credit: World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger)

The numbers on the street were neither small nor biblical. “Significant” would be a good term. And, even better, they were peaceful.

The largest numbers, by far, due to political ideology were, as expected, in Medellín with a reported estimate of 300,000. (In reality, it may have been half of that). In the other major cities, numbers were far more modest.

In Medellín, beyond the general protest against the government, there is another, less welcome, whiff in the air — and that is of federalism.

The People’s Republic of Antioquia is more than a fireside joke. There are those here who genuinely believe this province would prosper if left to its own devices, and that belief will always swell the numbers on the street. Quite clearly, this isn’t the case, and Colombia cannot afford the type of schism we are currently seeing between Bogotá and Medellín.

This divide is currently being fueled by the fact that Medellín Mayor Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez stood against Petro in the last election. And certain institutions in the city, which have become politicized over recent years, have joined the clamor of complaint against Petro.

There needs to be a coming together in order for Colombia to advance.

There are disputes over budget disbursements, which are valid. But equally valid are the demands from the ratings agencies (etc.) for Petro to run a disciplined monetary policy.

Some of the themes from the protests are valid. The proposed reforms from Petro do need fine tuning by Congress, but to suggest the pension or health systems of Colombia are perfect is to bend the truth. The 1991 Constitution isn’t perfect either, but there is neither time or the will to alter it.

But beyond this, Colombia needs huge reforms in order to bring some sense of equality. When your bedfellows in the GINI coefficient are Honduras and Haiti, with multiple millions still living in poverty, there is work to be done. And this too requires an articulated response that requires all of the cities (etc.) working together.

What Sunday did show us is the importance of the opposition in a democracy.

But what Colombia cannot accept, or afford, is any sort of federalism. The country isn’t strong enough for that.

Just as enough of the Scottish population ignored the call for independence, hopefully enough of those in Antioquia will ignore those stirring the pot in Medellín.

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