The Vanderbilt Jazz Quartet, the Vanderbilt University Jazz Quartet from Nashville, Tennessee  will be the special guests for the Centro Colombo Americano’s Jazz & Blues night Friday, June 14, at the Medellín Centro Colombiano headquarters- the Downtown location, not the Poblado or Los Molinos locations!

The group is led by jazz teacher Ryan Middagh, and is composed of four musicians from the Blair School of Music, recognized for its solid track record in musical training, especially in jazz, and considered one of the best music schools in the United States today. Vanderbilt Jazz Quartet has received important recognitions, including that of the renowned magazine DownBeat.

The Centro Colombo Americano will also have a presentation of Santiago Monsalve, who will give a blues concert, that same night, at El Club del Jazz.

Tickets are on sale at the cinema box office and in the bookstore of the Centro headquarters. Those who purchase tickets to both concerts receive a 20% discount.

Programming

Centro Colombo Americano, Downtown Medellín Headquarters, Room 1
Cra. 25 #53 -24, Medellín
6:30 p.m.: Vanderbilt Jazz Quartet concert, conducted by Ryan Middagh. Ticket office: $35,000

Club del Jazz
Call. 54 #45 – 11
8:00 p.m.: Santiago Monsalve. Ticket office: $25,000

Find all the programming of this year’s Jazz season at

www.colombomedellin.edu.co

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota wishes to inform U.S. citizens that the U.S. Consular Agency in Barranquilla will temporarily suspend services July 2-19, 2024.  All U.S. citizens in Colombia seeking consular services, including passports, Consular Reports of Birth, notary services, and emergency services, should seek assistance from U.S. Embassy Bogota during this period.

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia
Tel. +57-1-275-2000 or 601-275-2000
[email protected]
https://co.usembassy.gov

U.S. Consular Agency, Barranquilla
[email protected]

U.S. Department of State – Consular Affairs
1-888-407-4747 or 1-202-501-4444

Colombia Country Information

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Photo courtesy of Tecnoglass

Imports for the Colombian agricultural and agroindustrial products fell by 21% in March, with an overall value of $791 million USD, compared to March 2023, according to the nation’s Agricultural Rural Planning Unit (UPRA)

The agency noted that the decrease is mainly attributed to the reduction in imports of products such as wheat (-43.9% at a total of $40.4 million USD), corn (-19.9%, $35.3 million USD), and rice (-58.8%, $31.9 million USD).

“The decrease in imports of key products reflects an adjustment in the behavior of the Colombian agricultural and agroindustrial market,” said Claudia Cortés, director of UPRA.

The large fall in March helped push down imports overall for the first quarter of the year.

From January through March, sector imports totaled $2.27 billion USD, an 11.8% drop compared to the same period of the previous year.

This quarterly reduction s mainly explained by the decrease in imports of corn (-25.3%, $136.1 million USD), coffee (-51.9%, $40.2 million USD), and milk and its derivatives (-38.3%, $33.4 million USD).

In terms of volume, March imports for the sector totaled 1,427,720 tons, a decrease of 2.7% compared to March 2023.

The first quarter overall had a 2.1% increase in volume vs the first quarter of 2023, with a volume of 3,755,227 tons.

(Photo credit: Jared Wade)

The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently praised several key achievements on migration that came within the framework of recent high-level Colombia/United States dialogues in Bogotá, including the opening of five new Colombian consulates in the United States.

The five new consulates will be opened in Charlotte, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo.

“The presence of Colombia is expanded through these consulates and is a response to the need that the Colombian diaspora, the extended Colombia, the population that lives in the outside,” said Murillo. “And we will do this, obviously not only in the United States, but in other countries where our population requires the attention of our government.”

In announcing the news, the ministry also highlighted the recognition it has received from the United States for the nation’s leadership in terms of welcoming migrants from Venezuela.

“We applaud President [Gustavo] Petro in his decision to expand regularization and protection options this year to give almost three million Venezuelans residing in Colombia the opportunity to work, send their children to school and have access to health services,” said Richard Verma, undersecretary of state for the United States.

Murillo added context by providing an update on the Venezuelan migrant situation in Colombia. “We have about 2.3 million Venezuelans here integrating into our society and we are also going to welcome about 500,000 – 600,000 more,” said Murillo.

The two nations also discussed plans regarding Colombians who have migrated, particularly the current US family unification program aimed at helping Colombians reunite with their families in the United States.

“About 58,000 a thousand Colombians will benefit,” said Murillo. “Authorization and invitation have already been given by the [US] State Department for 6,000, and there are already close to 500 families in the United States that have been reunified through this program.”

For the first time, the United States has also provided authorization for nearly 20,000 Colombians to apply for non-agricultural work visas and approximately 1,000 visas for young people to work in summer in different cities in the United States.

“There are nearly 9,000 Colombian men and women studying in the United States, which also shows the strength of this relationship in these aspects,” said Murillo.

Photo: Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo. (Photo credit: Cancillería of Colombia)

This article, written by Juliana Manjarrés, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America.

Smugglers transporting illicit drugs, arms, and gold are increasingly using commercial and cargo flights to move shipments, according to data on the evolution of air routes following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo: El Dorado International Airport on Bogotá. (Photo credit: Jared Wade)

Alerts generated in Latin American airports for crime and corruption increased by 147% between 2021 and 2023, according to data provided to InSight Crime by risk intelligence firm, Osprey Flight Solutions (OFS). OFS generates the alerts based on continuous, real-time monitoring of events linked to security in the aviation industry.

The countries registering most alerts were Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The alerts registered by OFS — valid for commercial and cargo flights —  were generated at major airports with connections to the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Criminal groups use many methods to traffic illicit goods via commercial air routes. Common tactics include stashing goods in hidden compartments built into legal shipments, setting up legitimate export companies to conceal illegal shipments, and corrupting airport authorities to facilitate drug trafficking.

Although the sharp increase in alerts likely correlates with an increase in international flights following the removal of COVID-19 travel restrictions, the data exposes how smugglers are exploiting the resumption of commercial aviation. 

Brazil

Brazil registered the highest number of OFS alerts, recording 1,737 between February 2021 and February 2024. The incidents were mainly reports of gold and drug trafficking.

An increase in illegal gold mining during the administration of former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro (2018-2022), is a possible factor behind the spike in alerts. Increases in gold prices —  especially in 2021 — and employment woes during the COVID-19 pandemic favored the illegal gold industry’s expansion. Smugglers transport illegal gold from Guarulhos International Airport, near São Paulo, to Dubai and the United States, according to OFS.

When it comes to cocaine trafficking, the OFS alerts reveal an aerial smuggling route connecting airports in Manaus and São Paulo to Fortaleza, a port city on Brazil’s eastern coast. The increase in drug alerts coincides with Fortaleza’s consolidation as a dispatch point for cocaine shipment bound for Africa, especially after 2018. This use of this route could be an attempt by drug traffickers to evade controls at larger ports, such as Santos in São Paulo.

Brazil’s figures, though high, are not surprising — especially for São Paulo’s airport.

“The flow of travelers that travel through that airport each day, plus the amount of flights that depart to Europe every day, just make it a very high-profile airport for drug traffickers,” Mathilde Tisserand, a senior aviation security analyst at OFS, told InSight Crime.

Mexico

Mexico placed second on the OFS list, registering 700 alerts during the period of study. The results highlight the flow of synthetic drugs via domestic flights departing Culicán and Querétaro, destined for cities on the US-Mexico border such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. Drug traffickers increasingly use aerial routes to move synthetic drugs because the shipping times are shorter, and they see less risk of interception by authorities, a prosecutor working on drug cases in Baja California told InSight Crime.

OFS also tracked the flow of synthetic drugs from Mexico abroad. One of the main international routes is to Hong Kong, a key drug hub in East Asia. The Hong Kong airport has seen a 32% rise in synthetic drug seizures during the first four months of 2024, compared to the entirety of 2023, according to official statistics reported in local press.

Most drugs arrive in the city via human couriers, destined for the local consumption market.

OFS also tracked the flow of drugs hidden in air cargo from Mexico to Australia, via Hong Kong. This suggests Mexican drug trafficking organizations are not only looking to supply drug markets in East Asia and Oceania, but that they are increasingly turning to air cargo as a means of doing so quickly — the air route takes approximately three days.

Colombia

Colombia ranked third on OFS’ list, with 488 alerts. Cocaine was the most common substance trafficked via air cargo. The main flight routes connect capital city Bogotá to the island of San Andrés — a Colombian territory in the Caribbean — but there have also been drug alerts linked to flights to Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Record cocaine production in Colombia has favored the diversification of smuggling methods, including in the aviation domain, Tisserand told InSight Crime. Alerts at Colombian airports, tracked by OFS, increased by 275% between 2021 and 2023. These included some exceptionally large seizures at airports in San Andrés, among other destinations.

The island of San Andrés has become a major destination for domestic drug transit in recent years, with drug traffickers exploiting both aerial and maritime routes. In July 2023, Colombian police intercepted 1.5 tons of cocaine at the San Andrés airport, after it had been shipped from an airport in the west of the country, allegedly with the help of three airport workers.

This article, written by Juliana Manjarrés, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America.

LifeMiles, the loyalty program of Colombian airline Avianca, has partnered with US fintech company Cardless, Inc. to launch two new American Express credit cards tailored for consumers in the United States, the companies recently announced.

Both cards will offer users the ability to earn miles in various ways, including the following details outlined by San Francisco-based Cardless:

Avianca Lifemiles American Express Card

“With a $99 annual fee, [the card] offers generous rewards and benefits, including a bonus of up to 40,000 LifeMiles upon approval after spending $3000 in the first 90 days. Additionally, for every $1 spent with this credit card, cardholders can earn 2 miles on most purchases with Avianca or LifeMiles, 2 LifeMiles on restaurants & groceries, and 1 LifeMile on all other purchases.”

Avianca Lifemiles American Express Elite Card

“Featuring a $249 annual fee, [the card] delivers top-tier rewards and other benefits. Upon approval, elite cardholders can earn up to 100,000 LifeMiles as a bonus (that’s 60,000 miles after $4,500 spend in first 90 days and an additional 40,000 miles after $25,000 spend in first 365 days), with ongoing opportunities to accumulate miles on every dollar spent. Elite cardholders also enjoy a complimentary monthly subscription to LifeMiles+ Lite, offering eligibility for exclusive perks like a 10% miles redemption rebate on Star Alliance flights, up to 25% miles redemption discount on Avianca flights, up to 40% more miles on LifeMiles hotels and LifeMiles Cars bookings made through lifemiles.com, and up to a 10% discount on hotels and car rentals on LifeMiles.com. Elite cardholders will also receive 500 miles per month in their account through their Lifemiles+ subscription, with the opportunity to subscribe for a higher tier Lifemiles+ subscription with a reduced monthly.”

The San Francisco-based financial services firm added that applicants can apply at lifemiles.cardless.com and both cards offer a “fast-track to Silver status with Avianca” and “access to a range of travel benefits through LifeMiles.”

These benefits include:

• 30% bonus miles accrued on Avianca flights for Silver status elite members
• Priority services such as check-in, boarding, and baggage handling
• Complimentary lounge passes, companion passes for Avianca’s 12 VIP lounges
• Additional checked baggage allowance and 10% discount on premium seat purchases
• Star Alliance Silver status perks including priority reservations waitlist & priority stand-by on Star Alliance eligible flights

“Together with Cardless and American Express, we are pleased to launch excellent new credit card options for mileage enthusiasts,” said Matt Vincett, CEO of LifeMiles. “The premium card, I believe, is especially compelling, but both of our offerings give cardholders the ability to earn miles quickly, and then enjoy discounts when their miles are redeemed. We’ve even packaged-in an Elite status to make reward travel more enjoyable.”

This week there was a major health scare for Colombia. Grupo Sura’s health coverage arm has announced its withdrawal from the nation’s public health insurance plan — a move that would affect around five million members.

They are not the first company to do so amid claims by the private sector of underfunding from the government.

Above all, what we are experiencing is Colombia 2024 “101” — political polarization that is promising to bring the country to a halt.

There is an absolute mass to unpack here.

1. Historically, the EPS system (which Sura EPS is attempting to withdraw from) has provided coverage to over 90% of the population — and it has been widely praised over the years.

2. But the EPS providers are all up to their eyeballs in debt and have been for years.

3. Corruption and fraud have been seen across the system — and billions of dollars have disappeared over the years.

4. The minute that the EPSs have been stress-tested and questioned, they have bailed out. Ask yourself why.

4. President Gustavo Petro’s health reform tried to address these factors — but failed, as it sought too many other broad-reaching changes as well.

5. Congressional resistance was also driven by the lobby from those capitalizing from the fraud (as always).

To add all this, former President Álvaro Uribe’s party, the Democratic Center, is now looking to the courts to block ALL of the Petro reform processes — this at a moment when the pension reform is threatening to be passed. On top of this, Petro, in a country now awash with “fake news,” has had to deny that he wishes to close the Congress. Uribe’s move has nothing to do with the reforms but more the ongoing criminal investigation into his time in power.

That’s where we are right now in Colombia. Such is the political heat/stupidity/stubbornness/nonsense (insert more terms as appropriate) right now. The news of Sura’s withdrawal from the EPS system broke on Tuesday — and was already missing from the headlines by Thursday.

Perhaps if Petro and Uribe, the absolute pantomime villains of the piece, were dispatched on the next rover trip to Mars, Colombia might be able to get on with building a future.

Meantime, of more concern is a slowing economy, which has led to a 10.3% decline in tax revenues over the first four months of 2024. The current shortfall is around $2.85 billion USD. That is a huge chunk of change for a government that is being asked to ramp up payments to the health system, as well as other infrastructure projects.

All this with ratings agencies and other overseas entities urging cautious spending amidst positive comments on Petro’s attempts to balance the books.

For now, that is your rundown! Be grateful if you are overseas reading about Colombia, and not living it.

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With a goal to focus on providing greater access to insurance in Colombia, Ban100, a banking establishment specializing in the drawdown market, and global insurer Chubb recently partnered to provide “new insurance alternatives linked to the offer of payday loans,” according to the companies.

Photo: Chubb’s Sunbury Cross, UK office.

In what the firms are calling a new alliance, Ban100 says they will offer a consolidated means for its customers to safeguard themselves against a range of risks, with insurance covering home, accident, funeral, and group life.

Ban100 and Chubb stated this this partnership serves to “ratify their commitment to bring financial inclusion and protection to the base segment of the population, especially in rural areas of the country, taking advantage of the insurer’s experience in omni-channel insurance distribution and digital integration capabilities through Chubb Studio.”

Héctor Chaves, president of Ban100, said the company is very proud of this new strategic alliance.

“It goes hand in hand with the purpose set for 2024 to benefit our customers through innovative and high-quality products,” he said. “This commitment to insurance will allow them to have a strengthened portfolio for their greater financial peace of mind and with which they will have professional advice and integrated services in order to be covered in the event of eventualities.”

Fabio Cabral, president of Chubb Seguros Colombia S.A., add that, “it fill us with pride…to accompany Ban100 in the implementation of its omnichannel distribution capabilities to provide an interconnected experience to its customers with products tailored to their needs and boost its growth in the digital insurance offer.”

Colombia’s largest insurance provider, a business unit of Grupo Sura filed this morning with Colombia’s health superintendency, to withdraw from participating in the country’s EPS (Health Promoting Entity) healthcare system. Under Colombia’s EPS system, which the current president Gustavo Petro seeks to dismantle and replace with a government system, employers contribute a percentage of an employee’s salary to an EPS provider of the employee’s choice. Independent workers pay into the EPS system themselves, and the government has a subsidy plan for low-income and unemployed individuals.

Seguros Sura sent out a statement to its EPS policy holders stating the following:

“The Colombian health system faces major challenges that have been going on for some time and have been aggravated by budget insufficiency in recent years. We have done everything we can to protect the lives and well-being of our members, including by evaluating different alternatives in the current legal framework and in the Government’s new proposals. However, at this time we must take steps to prevent further deterioration, which would prevent us from meeting our obligations.”

According to Sura, the current EPS system is not sustainable and does not provide enough funding for the services committed.  Sura operates a large private health care network, (similar to a HMO or Health Maintenance Organization in the US) with many private clinics and over seven thousand health professionals. Sura’s plan is to “go private” and deal with policyholders and patients directly, not participating in the EPS program anymore. In other words, individuals can purchase Sura private health care policies and pay directly in Sura clinics, but Sura seeks to withdraw from the EPS regimen, which pays a set price determined by the government to health care intermediaties.

Sura was quick to send out an email to private policy holders reminding them that what they have is not EPS Sura.

“Regarding your Health Policy, it is important to remember that you have contracted it with a company independent of EPS SURA. You will continue to have all the current coverage and benefits, such as direct access to the network of more than 7 thousand specialists and health institutions, exclusive care locations, home services, diagnostic aids, wellness program – Vive Más, among others.”

As Sura is a profitable company not facing liquidation or intervention, and is voluntarily seeking to retire from the EPS regimen, there will be no immediate change in service delivery, all clinics, appointments, and policy functions will continue as normal. Sura must now wait on a response from the Colombian government. Holders of Sura’s private healthcare plans such as their Classic and Global family health plans will not be directly affected by Sura’s plan to leave the EPS scheme. In fact, Sura states that its strategy is to focus entirely on its private plans.

The Colombian government’s intention to amend the country’s fiscal rule highlights continuing challenges to consolidation sufficient to stabilize debt/GDP durably, according to Fitch Ratings.

Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said this month that the government would present a bill to make the rule more flexible, in a package of measures aimed at boosting weak economic growth that is weighing on public finances. Real GDP growth slowed sharply to 0.6% last year following a strong post-pandemic rebound, and Fitch forecasts a modest 1.1% expansion in 2024. President Gustavo Petro has previously said the fiscal rule should accommodate counter-cyclical public spending.

Colombia’s ‘BB+’/Stable sovereign rating, affirmed on December 7, 2023, is constrained by fiscal challenges, high commodity dependence and structurally large current account deficits. Large fiscal deficits, an increasing public debt burden and the decline in fiscal policy credibility were factors in Colombia’s downgrade to below investment grade in July 2021.

Tax reforms were passed in November 2022, and high nominal GDP growth and peso appreciation supported deficit and debt reduction in 2023. But obstacles have arisen to consolidation. November’s Constitutional Court ruling on tax deductibility of oil and coal company royalties prompted the government to increase its 2024 central government deficit target to 5.3% of GDP in February’s Financing Plan, from 4.4%.

Fitch Ratings see risks to the revised target, for example, in securing Congressional approval for an arbitration system to speed up settlement of tax disputes. Budget rigidities limit the scope for spending cuts other than to capital expenditure, which could further weaken growth prospects.

The New York-based ratings agency also expect rising expenditure to meet some social demands, although prospects for Petro’s landmark pension and healthcare reforms are uncertain. In April, a Senate committee rejected a healthcare bill, although Petro says he will reintroduce healthcare reforms and may seek constitutional changes to implement them.

The Senate has passed a pensions bill that, if approved by the Chamber of Representatives by June 20, would take effect from July 2025. Allotted contributions up to a threshold of 2.3x the minimum wage would no longer go to individual accounts in private pension funds, but to the pay-as-you-go public pension fund and a new public savings fund.

The bill would prevent people moving existing pension assets from the private to the public system, which often pays wealthier workers higher benefits. By ending competition between the private and public systems, it would eliminate the implicit subsidy for wealthier workers that increases the public system’s long-term costs.

The bill creates a solidarity pillar for people three years beyond retirement age who are economically vulnerable or who are in dire poverty and do not qualify for a pension. The government estimates its initial cost at 0.3% of GDP. However, the absence of parametric reforms means the overall estimated pension liability would increase over time. Governments could be tempted to increase pensions and extend coverage, adding to fiscal pressures from a large structural central government deficit.

The public savings fund would be managed by the independent central bank of Colombia, which has contributed to the country’s record of macroeconomic stability. The impact on domestic funding markets depends on the fund’s investment guidelines. For example, a publicly run fund could boost government financing sources to the detriment of the private sector.

Lower house approval of the pensions bill is not certain and Fitch has not incorporated additional costs from healthcare and pension reforms into its fiscal forecasts. The rating agency’s baseline is for general government debt/GDP to rise to 56.3% in 2025, as forecast primary surpluses will not stabilize the ratio even as growth rises to 2.8% in 2025.

No detailed legislative proposal to amend the fiscal rule has emerged and it is unclear whether Congress would approve one. Without major changes in fiscal policy, medium-term central government deficits will be about 4.5% of GDP. This would not comply with the rule’s existing provisions.