BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia must act to halt rising violence, including against trade unionists, if it is to secure U.S. congressional approval for a long-delayed trade agreement with Washington, a U.S. human rights group said on Wednesday. Murder rates have climbed in Colombia over the last year as authorities say thousands of criminals, led by former right-wing militia chiefs ...

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday won more support for re-election after a public ombudsman ruled the Constitutional Court should approve a referendum to permit the U.S. ally to run for a third term. The Inspector General's recommendation is nonbinding but it will be considered by the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on whether ...

Colombia's leftist guerrillas said Tuesday they killed a kidnapped governor last month because of a government order to rescue rebel-held hostages. The body of Caqueta Gov. Luis Francisco Cuellar, who was abducted on Dec. 21, was found with the throat slashed near the state capital of Florencia the following day ...

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic Church official on Friday proposed a meeting in Europe with Colombia's main guerrilla leader to discuss handover of hostages and possible negotiations to end Latin America's oldest insurgency. Previous attempts to bring the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to the table have failed over conditions for the release of the captives ...