After a lengthy dispute with global mega-firm AngloGold Ashanti, the people of the central Colombian town of Piedras passed a referendum July 23 to halt the mining company's ambitions in their municipality for good. AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has consistently insisted that they "100% owned" the site at La Colosa near Piedras, Tolima, despite having been investigated for illegal mining activity earlier this year.  Of the potential 5,105 eligible voters, 2971 people voted against the company's plans while just 24 voted in support of AGA's mining plans. According to Law 134 of 1994, this decision is legally binding; at least a third of eligible voters took part and the motion was passed by at least 50% of the vote. AGA was defeated by a sweeping 99.1% of the vote.

Three of FARC’s most senior figures on Aug. 1 admitted that their rebel group  has made mistakes, an apparent step towards an apology for crimes committed by the guerillas. In an interview published on the rebel group's website, FARC commanders "Ivan Marquez," "Pablo Catatumbo" and "Rodrigo Granda" talked about the possibility of apologizing, something the FARC so far has refused to do in spite of numerous sentences for war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law. It is Catatumbo who admitted that "we have made mistakes, some serious indeed... I have no problem in telling a woman or a family: 'I feel sorry about the pain we have caused with the death of your loved one.'" 

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on July 25 intervened in the public hearing of the Constitutional Court to defend the Framework for Peace, a constitutional amendment that brought about peace talks with the FARC rebels. Rights groups, including the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), challenged the amendment because it vests the congress with the discretion to decide which acts of war are applicable to the justice system. According to the CCJ and Human Rights Watch (HRW), this discretion could lead to loopholes that allow violent criminals to escape justice. Santos defended the amendment as a vital prerequisite for peace, "Our commitment to the expectations and rights of the victims is serious," Santos said. "It's not about sacrificing justice to reach peace but how to achieve peace with the most justice." The representative for the CCJ responded, "In this case the cure could end up being worse than the disease." The Constitutional Court's decision has not yet been released.

Indefinite strikes brought coal mining operations of Alabama-based multinational Drummond Co to a halt on July 23 in the north of Colombia, putting further pressure on the country's economy amid a growing wave of labor actions. After negotiations failed between the Sintramienergetica union and Drummond over wage increases, union workers declared an indefinite end to operations. The strike threatens a halt to nearly all production in the world's fourth coal-producing nation. Two companies, Drummond and Cerrejon, account for 85% of Colombia's coal industry. If Cerrejon, whose union went on strike earlier this year, also declares a halt to operations, Colombia's GDP growth could fall significantly. President Juan Manuel Santos has said the strikes could "damage the entire world," and that "no one wins because every day that passes [there are] forgone royalties and foregone incomes that for the most part go to social investment." (Colombia Reports, July 24)

Colombia's ambassador in Washington has resigned after being implicated in an alleged case of land theft, President Juan Manuel Santos said July 23. The ambassador, Carlos Urrutia, was involved in an ongoing scandal in which he repeatedly faced questions regarding his involvement in the appropriation of some 100,000 acres of land throughout central Colombia. In his resignation letter, Urrutia defended the legality of his actions: "I trust the legality of the legal argument that support the acquisitions. Unfortunately the political discussion has focused more on the background and there is resistance to hearing legal reasons that conclude the acquisitions were executed under the rule of law." Prior to his role as ambassador Urrutia was a major shareholder of the law firm Brigard & Urrutia, which is accused of facilitating the illegal lands transfers.

Colombia's largest rebel group FARC on July 19 announced that their fighters have captured a supposedly retired US Navy seaman in the south of the country. According to a statement on the rebels' website, they are holding New York native Kevin Scott Sutay prisoner after capturing the retired US official in the southern department of Guaviare. The FARC offered to release the hostage in the same statement. According to the rebels, the American hostage told them he served in the US Navy between November 2009 until March this year and is an Afghanistan war veteran. According to the rebel statement, the captive said he served as an anti-explosives expert in a naval engineer battalion.

US intelligence agencies have carried out spying operations on telecommunications in at least 14 Latin American countries, according to a series of articles the Brazilian national daily O Globo began publishing on July 7. Based on classified documents leaked by former US intelligence technician Edward Snowden, the articles reported that the main targets were Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The US also spied "constantly, but with less intensity," on Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, the newspaper said. Brazil and Colombia, a major US ally, have both officially demanded explanations from the US.

Two explosions shut down Colombia's 80,000 barrel-per-day Caño Limon-Covenas oil pipeline, state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol said July 5, with a military source describing them as attacks carried out by leftist rebels. The explosions on Colombia’s second largest pipeline, used by US oil producer Occidental and owned by Ecopetrol, had no immediate impact on production or exports in Latin America's fourth largest oil producer, according to an Ecopetrol official. No details on how much crude was spilt by the explosions or the environmental damage was immediately available, the Ecopetrol official said.