Amid uptick in kidnappings, Colombian family receives ‘biggest gift of all’
Al Jazeera
Colombia has experienced a surge in kidnappings in 2023, but negotiations with armed groups might herald a breakthrough.
Chia, Colombia – Decnis Diaz was at home in Chia, Colombia, on November 18 when she received a call from her siblings: Her beloved younger brother, Jhon Jairo Diaz, had been kidnapped.
A 34-year-old store manager, Jhon Jairo was ending his shift at a meat market in Cucuta, a border town near Venezuela, when four masked men held him at gunpoint and dragged him inside a black sedan. Security cameras captured the vehicle speeding away.
“I couldn’t believe it. It always seemed to me that kidnappings were a terrible crime, but I never thought that our family would be a victim of it,” said Diaz.
Jhon Jairo was the latest victim in an unexpected crime trend: The number of kidnappings has shot up recently in Colombia.
Between January and October, a total of 287 people were abducted, a 73-percent increase over the same period the previous year, according to the Defence Ministry.
Price for a dozen eggs has increased by more than 60 percent over the last year as millions of birds killed.
Moscow kicks out the diplomat, who, it says, was ‘conducting intelligence and subversive work that threatens the security of Russia’.
The ICC will decide next steps for the Pakistan-hosted tournament after India refused to travel to the country.
Authorities says five more people have been rescued, bringing the total to 33 survivors while seven remain missing.
Justin Trudeau and Claudia Sheinbaum urge dialogue as Donald Trump plans to hit US neighbours with 25-percent tariffs.
Officials have arrested a group of 14 people who emerged unassisted, including a teenage boy.
Despite claims its election victory is illegitimate, Georgian Dream party plans vote for new president on December 14, using rules it pushed through in 2017.
A court in Chittagong denied bail to the man charged with sedition as India cautioned about justice for minorities.
The federal criminal cases against Trump relating to 2020 election interference and mishandling of classified documents will no longer go ahead.
Violent clashes continue in Islamabad as security forces use tear gas, rubber bullets to disperse advancing protesters.