Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

July 2025
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Tue, 29 July 2025

577: Small Earthquakes and what we never learnt in school about South America

Blending travel writing, history and reportage, our guest on this week's Colombia Calling podcast is award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji who tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. From a ghost town in one of the world's driest deserts to a far-flung ranch in the sub-polar tundra; rusting whaling stations in the South Atlantic to an isolated railway built by convicts. '[An] appealing fusion of travelogue and history, excavating the roots and remnants of British influence in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.' - The Observer ‘This is travel writing as much as history. Meghji has the true travel writer’s eye for the comic, pathetic and tragic, and for the places where they collide. . . This is writing full of rust, wind and sadness. It captures splendidly the air of South America and the long, withdrawing roar of an empire whose influence once reached far beyond its political borders.’ — The Times So tune in to hear our conversation with Shafik. https://www.shafikmeghji.com/

And, the Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart

https://substack.com/@ehart

Direct download: RCC_577.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 22 July 2025

576: The Myth Of The Narco

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, the price of cocaine, and why Colombia as a nation needs to look in the mirror. Check out: https://alaorilladelrio.com

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Support her on Substack: https://substack.com/@ehart

and

Support us on: https://www.patreon.com/c/colombiacalling

Direct download: RCC_576.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 15 July 2025

575: The Rise of the Tren de Aragua: A Deep Dive

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 gang's operations and the socio-political context in which it operates.

Tune in to this and the Colombia Briefing with Emily Hart.

Direct download: RCC_575.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 8 July 2025

574: Andrei Gómez Suárez discusses peace dialogues and writing as he reflects on the Colombian conflict

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 in the region.

Buy his book: https://a.co/d/2I0NexU

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Direct download: RCC_574.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Tue, 1 July 2025

573: Richard McColl reads from his book: "The Mompos Project: A Story of Love, Hotels and Madness 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, experiencing challenges that make him reconsider his upbringing, education and outlook on how he fits into his adopted homeland. With two hotels in Mompós, he experiences the joy of new friendships and a despair over the predictability of guests.

With a journalist's eye for a story, McColl navigates the history of Mompós and how its society is a microcosm of today's Colombia, with its feudal system still very much in place, inherent prejudices, stigma surrounding the politics, the people and the past, all coming to the fore.

Buy the book: https://a.co/d/ezGbsP3

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Direct download: RCC_573.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT