Latin America in Short: New Massacre in Colombia | Shanghai in Quarantine

A new massacre in Colombia is announced once again. This time it seems to have been at the hands of the Armed Forces and justified as a military operation. In global news, Shanghai is in crisis due to the strict quarantine to which its inhabitants are subjected due to a new health crisis. By the way, new variants of the Coronavirus are detected in the UK. In the environment, the Mar Menor will be the first natural space with legal personality in Europe. In sports, Real Madrid goes to the semifinals of the Champions League. All the most relevant of the week summarized here.

Armed Forces of Colombia, again in the eye of the hurricane

In the midst of the presidential campaign that will have its first round in mid-May, Colombia is experiencing moments of anxiety in the face of an alleged massacre carried out by the National Army in the south of the country. According to various media reports, in the municipality of Puerto Legízamo, in the department of Putumayo, 11 people died at the hands of the Armed Forces. The complaint is that the official versions affirm that these events occurred under a military operation that tried to combat illegal armed groups operating in the area.

However, the community affirms that the social event they were attending was of a civil nature and carried out by the community itself and that among those who died, there is also a civilian population, including a pregnant woman, a minor and the township leader. The Prosecutor's Office is carrying out the investigations and, for his part, the army commander, General Zapateiro, defends the group's actions and affirms that despite the fact that there are civilian casualties, the operation complies with the rigor of Human Rights. While the investigations are being carried out, opposition parties are calling for a political trial against Defense Minister Diego Molano.

Read also: Colombia: The Presidential Candidates Positions On The ELN And Venezuela

Dantesque scenes of strict quarantine in the richest region of China

The city of Shanghai has been under strict quarantine for a few days due to a resurgence of COVID-19. The 25 million inhabitants of the most prosperous city in the Asian giant have denounced that the pets of those who test positive for Coronavirus may be being euthanized.

For its part, several videos have gone viral of the despair of strict quarantine for the entire population that is prevented from leaving their residences. This has caused extreme dependence on food supplied by the Chinese government and a lack of sufficient food.

New variants of Coronavirus have been detected in the UK

New variants of Sars-Cov-2 have continued to be detected. Their names begin with X and the health authorities have their eyes on how the infection develops. These are variants resulting from a recombination between Ómicron and other sublineages. The United Kingdom Health Security Agency has indicated that they have detected some variants in its territory: “3 recombinants, known as XF, XE and XD. Of these, XD and XF are recombinants of Delta and Omicron BA.1, while XE is a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2”. So far, the country's authorities indicate that it does not seem that they are more dangerous variants.

The Mar Menor will be the first natural space with legal personality in Europe

In Spain, the Congress of Deputies has approved the processing of a law that was promoted by a Popular Legislative Initiative to grant legal personality to the Mar Menor. It is expected that by the end of May, this coastal lagoon will obtain its new legal status after a vote in Congress. In this way, protection will be given to the rights of this ecosystem, which will be the first natural area with this type of recognition in Europe. However, in the world more debates have already been opened on this type of protection for other natural spaces, such as moors. This is one of the challenges for current law.

Real Madrid defeated Chelsea and advance to the Champions League semi-finals

On Tuesday of this week, Real Madrid qualified for the Champions League semi-finals when they defeated Chelsea, the previous champion of this competition. Although the merengue team lost 2-3, they managed to defeat the English team 5-4 on aggregate. The game featured goals from Rodrygo in the 80th minute and Benzema in the 96th minute. Madrid will face either Manchester City or Atlético de Madrid in the next semi-final series.