Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

June 2025
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Tue, 24 June 2025

572: Álvaro Uribe: The Early Years and Rise to Power, 1952-1994

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 governor of the department, taking in his education, his role on the Medellin city council, director of Aerocivil, Mayor of Medellin and many family connections.

Allegations of ties to drug cartels and paramilitaries have dogged him since the early 1980s, when the civil aviation agency he then led was accused of giving air licenses to drug traffickers. Declassified State Department cables from a decade later show U.S. officials were told the up-and-coming politician had ties to cartels.

In future episodes we will look at further details surrounding Colombia's most powerful political force.

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Direct download: RCC_572.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 17 June 2025

571: Forty Days Lost in the Colombian Amazon

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! https://a.co/d/j5E0P05 Mat Youkee has lived in Panama and Colombia since 2010, working as a freelance journalist and professional investigator. He has covered Indigenous-rights issues in Colombia, Panama, Chile, and Argentina for The Guardian. His reporting has also appeared in The Economist, The Telegraph, the Financial Times, Americas Quarterly, Foreign Policy, and other local and international publications.

And, tune in to the Colombia Briefing with Emily Hart: https://harte.substack.com

Direct download: RCC_571.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 10 June 2025

570: The True Story of how DEA Agents brought down the Cali Cartel

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! https://a.co/d/fXriXC1

Chris Feistl was a DEA Special Agent for twenty-six years, serving in diverse assignments throughout the US as well as twelve years in Colombia, South America, where he investigated major drug cartels that were supplying tons of cocaine and heroin destined for the US. Starting as a new agent in Miami, he finished his career as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Phoenix in 2014. Jessica Balboni is a Boston-based writer and editor with a diverse background in media that spans artistic, academic, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, including roles held with the Food Network, The Rockefeller Foundation, and ESPN.

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Direct download: RCC_570.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 3 June 2025

569: La Escombrera: Colombia's Largest Urban Mass Grave

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 Calling host, takes us through an article she wrote on her Substack about La Escombrera, the dynamics and history of Colombia's civil conflict, and about how this war - largely characterised by rural conflict and guerrilla tactics - ended up radically changing the face of Colombia’s cities.

And don't miss, the Colombia Briefing reported by Emily as well.

Direct download: RCC_569.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT