HO CHI MINH: Vietnam on Wednesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future.
The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of a Vietnam divided into the communist North and US-allied South, and the country’s top official told crowds the past decades had led to ever increasing unity.
“All the Vietnamese are the descendants of Vietnam. They have the rights to live and work, to have freedom to pursue happiness and love in this country,” said To Lam, the Vietnam Communist Party’s general secretary.
“In a spirit of closing the past, respecting differences, aiming for the future, the whole party, the people and the army vow to make Vietnam become a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development,” he added.
Thousands camped overnight on the streets of the former South Vietnamese capital, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after it fell to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, to get the best vantage point for the parade. Many lingered on the streets later in the afternoon and ate picnics while waiting for drone and fireworks shows scheduled for the evening.
“Now it’s time for peace,” said spectator Nguyen Thi Hue, a city resident. “Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants.”
One float carried the Lac bird, Vietnam’s emblem, another a portrait of Ho Chi Minh.
Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war. Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where a North Vietnamese tank smashed through the gates on the final day of the war.
Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.
To Lam said beyond a victory over the US and South Vietnam, the fall of Saigon was a “glorious landmark” that ended a 30-year fight for independence that began with the fight to oust French colonial troops.
He said Vietnam owes its position in the world today to support from the Soviet Union, China and solidarity from Laos and Cambodia, as well as “progressive” people all over the world including the US, he said.
Vietnam’s changing global approach
The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.
“The war still defines Vietnam’s unity, and its unresolved divides,” Giang said.
For Pham Ngoc Son, a veteran who fought for the communists, today there is “only space for peace and friendship” between the US and Vietnam.
“The war is over a long time ago,” said the 69-year-old who, during the war, served as an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south along the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret supply route used by North Vietnam.
Passage of time has led to improved relations with US
This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US
In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the US to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia.
There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancelation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam.
Vietnamese officials say the relationship with the US is anchored in American efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside that still threaten lives.
The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID.
Moreover, the export-dependent country is vulnerable in a global economy made fragile amid Trump’s tariff plans.
Vietnam was slammed with reciprocal tariffs of 46 percent, one of the highest. This puts a “big question mark” on what the US wants to achieve in Asia, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank.
Previously, close ties with Washington have helped Vietnam balance its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China, she said.
Vietnam is one of the countries, along with the Philippines, that has been involved in direct confrontations with China over conflicting maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Focus on economic and not strategic competition may mean that Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia become less important for the US
“It really will be shaping up (on) how the new administration sees the strategic picture in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam would fit in,” she said.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Tuesday refused to comment on reports that the Trump administration had discouraged diplomats from attending anniversary events. “I’m not going to discuss what has been suggested or not suggested,” she said.
The Embassy in Hanoi said US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns had attended the event. US ambassador Marc E. Knapper didn’t attend.
Who took part in the parade?
About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans and local citizens took part in the parade. The route followed the main boulevard leading to the Independence Palace before branching into city streets and passed the US Consulate.
A video of Chinese troops singing the iconic song “As If Uncle Ho Were With Us on Victory Day” during a rehearsal was shared widely on social media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had visited Vietnam earlier in the month in a bid to present the country as a force for stability in contrast with Trump.
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity
https://arab.news/4ukf4
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity
- The Embassy in Hanoi said US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns had attended the event
- The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID
US troops make first detentions in Trump border military zones
- US presidents have long used active-duty and reservist troops on the international boundary in support roles to US Border Patrol such as surveillance and construction
US troops have made their first detentions inside military areas set up on the US-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the US Army said.
The unprecedented military areas along 260 miles (418 km) of border in New Mexico and Texas were declared extensions of US Army bases by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, allowing troops to temporarily detain migrants and other civilian trespassers.
Three “illegal aliens” were detained by troops in the New Mexico area near Santa Teresa on June 3, before being handed to US Border Patrol, Army spokesperson Major Geoffrey Carmichael said in an email.
“This marks the first time Department of Defense personnel have recorded a temporary detainment within either National Defense Area,” Carmichael said.
US presidents have long used active-duty and reservist troops on the international boundary in support roles to US Border Patrol such as surveillance and construction.
President Donald Trump took military use a step further by giving troops the right to hold trespassers they catch in the zones until civilian law enforcement assumes custody.
Federal troops can also search people and conduct crowd control measures within the areas, according to the Army.
Designation of the zones as military bases allowed troops to detain migrants without the need for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. The 1807 law lets a US president deploy federal troops domestically to suppress events like civil disorder.
Prosecution of dozens of migrants caught in the zones has faced setbacks in court after judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges, and acquitted a Peruvian woman, ruling they did not know they were entering restricted areas.
The primary role of troops in the zones is to detect and track illegal border crossers, with around 390 such detections so far, the Army said.
News of the detentions inside military areas came as Trump deployed state-based National Guard troops to Los Angeles during protests over immigration raids.
Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the US. Here’s what to know
- The list singled out countries with high percentages of nationals who remained after their visas expired
- Travel ban stems from Trump's earlier directive requiring compilation of a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the US
DAKAR, Senegal: President Donald Trump has banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns in resurrecting and expanding a hallmark policy from his first term that will mostly affect people from Africa and the Middle East.
The ban announced Wednesday applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The heightened restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.
The policy takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and does not have an end date.
Here’s what to know about the new rules:
How Trump justified the ban
Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him.
The travel ban stems from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the US.
The aim is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” the administration said.
In a video posted on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a terrorist attack Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The man charged in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. US officials say he overstayed a tourist visa.
Who is exempt from the ban and which countries are affected
Trump said nationals of countries included in the ban pose “terrorism-related” and “public-safety” risks, as well as risks of overstaying their visas. He also said some of these countries had “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their citizens.
His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report about tourists, businesspeople and students who overstay US visas and arrive by air or sea, singling out countries with high percentages of nationals who remain after their visas expired.
“We don’t want them,” Trump said.
The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on special immigrant visas, who were generally the people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade war there.
The list can be changed, the administration said in a document, if authorities in the designated countries make “material improvements” to their own rules and procedures. New countries can be added “as threats emerge around the world.”
State Department guidance
The State Department instructed US embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from the 12 countries listed in the ban.
In a cable sent to all US diplomatic missions, the department said “no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section” and that “no visas issued prior to the effective date should be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.”
However, visa applicants from affected countries whose applications have been approved but have not yet received their visas will be denied, according to the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
And, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting on Monday.
How the ban differs from 2017’s
Early in Trump’s first term, he issued an executive order banning travel to the US by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on flights to the US or detained at US airports after they landed. They included students and faculty, as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family.
The order, often referred to as the “Muslim ban” or the “travel ban,” was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
That ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.
Reactions to Trump’s order
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s government condemned the travel ban, characterizing it in a statement as a “stigmatization and criminalization campaign” against Venezuelans.
Chad President Mahamat Deby Itno said his country would suspend visas for US citizens in response to the ban.
Aid and refugee resettlement groups also denounced it.
“This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
But reactions to the ban ran the gamut from anger to guarded relief and support.
In Haiti, radio stations received a flurry of calls Thursday from angry listeners, including many who said they were Haitians living in the US and who accused Trump of being racist, noting that the people of many of the targeted countries are Black.
Haitian-American Elvanize Louis-Juste, who was at the airport Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the US are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest in their country.
“I have family in Haiti, so it’s pretty upsetting to see and hear,” Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s very upsetting.”
William Lopez, a 75-year-old property investor who arrived from Cuba in 1967, supports the travel ban.
“These are people that come but don’t want to work, they support the Cuban government, they support communism,” Lopez said at a restaurant near Little Havana in Miami. “What the Trump administration is doing is perfectly good.”
Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the US. Here’s what to know
- The aim is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology
DAKAR, Senegal: President Donald Trump has banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns in resurrecting and expanding a hallmark policy from his first term that will mostly affect people from Africa and the Middle East.
The ban announced Wednesday applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The heightened restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.
The policy takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and does not have an end date.
Here’s what to know about the new rules:
How Trump justified the ban
Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him.
The travel ban stems from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the US
The aim is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” the administration said.
In a video posted on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a terrorist attack Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The man charged in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. US officials say he overstayed a tourist visa.
Who is exempt from the ban, Which countries are affected
Trump said nationals of countries included in the ban pose “terrorism-related” and “public-safety” risks, as well as risks of overstaying their visas. He also said some of these countries had “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their citizens.
His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report about tourists, businesspeople and students who overstay US visas and arrive by air or sea, singling out countries with high percentages of nationals who remain after their visas expired.
“We don’t want them,” Trump said.
The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on special immigrant visas, who were generally the people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade war there.
The list can be changed, the administration said in a document, if authorities in the designated countries make “material improvements” to their own rules and procedures. New countries can be added “as threats emerge around the world.”
State Department guidance
The State Department instructed US embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from the 12 countries listed in the ban.
In a cable sent to all US diplomatic missions, the department said “no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section” and that “no visas issued prior to the effective date should be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.”
However, visa applicants from affected countries whose applications have been approved but have not yet received their visas will be denied, according to the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
And, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting on Monday.
How the ban differs from 2017’s
Early in Trump’s first term, he issued an executive order banning travel to the US by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on flights to the US or detained at US airports after they landed. They included students and faculty, as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family.
The order, often referred to as the “Muslim ban” or the “travel ban,” was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
That ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.
Reactions to Trump’s order
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s government condemned the travel ban, characterizing it in a statement as a “stigmatization and criminalization campaign” against Venezuelans.
Chad President Mahamat Deby Itno said his country would suspend visas for US citizens in response to the ban.
Aid and refugee resettlement groups also denounced it.
“This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
But reactions to the ban ran the gamut from anger to guarded relief and support.
In Haiti, radio stations received a flurry of calls Thursday from angry listeners, including many who said they were Haitians living in the US and who accused Trump of being racist, noting that the people of many of the targeted countries are Black.
Haitian-American Elvanize Louis-Juste, who was at the airport Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the US are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest in their country.
“I have family in Haiti, so it’s pretty upsetting to see and hear,” Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s very upsetting.”
William Lopez, a 75-year-old property investor who arrived from Cuba in 1967, supports the travel ban.
“These are people that come but don’t want to work, they support the Cuban government, they support communism,” Lopez said at a restaurant near Little Havana in Miami. “What the Trump administration is doing is perfectly good.”
National Guard faces off with protesters hours after arriving in Los Angeles on Trump’s orders
- California governor accuses Trump of a “complete overreaction” designed to create a spectacle of force
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region
LOS ANGELES: Tear gas was fired at protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday when some demonstrators moved close to National Guard troops and shouted insults at them, hours after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the military over the objections of the governor and mayor.
The confrontation broke out as hundreds of people protested in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where several of the newly-arrived National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.
Video showed uniformed officers shooting off the smoke-filled canisters as they advanced into the street, forcing protesters to retreat. It was not immediately clear what prompted the use of chemical irritants or which law enforcement agency fired them.
Minutes later, loud popping sounds erupted again, as some protesters chanted “go home” and “shame.” One person was taken to the ground by uniformed officers. Another appeared to be bleeding from their head.
Around 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday on orders from Trump, who accused Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats of failing to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents.
The move appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Deployment follows days of protest
The deployment followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.
As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
The deployment of the National Guard came over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a “complete overreaction” designed to create a spectacle of force.
The recent protests remain far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Trump says there will be ‘very strong law and order’
In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.
Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”
Asked if he planned to send US troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.” He didn’t elaborate.
Trump also said that California officials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges. A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities.
“If officials stay in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges,” Trump said.
Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday.
There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard’s arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done.” But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.
Defense secretary threatens to deploy active-duty Marines ‘if violence continues’
In a statement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California’s politicians and protesters of “defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety.”
“Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin added.
The troops included members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense.
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats.
“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said.
Who is Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay who was shot during a campaign rally in Bogota?
- Uribe Turbay, 39, who has announced he intends to run for president next year, was in serious condition following surgery, a day after the shooting
- He launched his presidential bid in March and has become a prominent opposition voice against the government of President Gustavo Petro
Conservative Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot and seriously injured during a campaign rally in the capital, Bogota. The brazen attack captured on video shook a nation that decades ago regularly saw kidnappings and killings of politicians and high profile people.
Uribe Turbay, 39, who has announced he intends to run for president next year, was in serious condition following surgery Sunday, a day after the shooting, and doctors said he was going through “critical hours.”
Here’s what to know about the conservative politician:
Presidential contender
A member of the right-wing Democratic Center party, Uribe Turbay has become a prominent opposition voice against the government of President Gustavo Petro, the first leftist politician to become the leader of Colombia. Petro cannot seek reelection in 2026.
Uribe Turbay, whose family had also suffered political violence, launched his presidential bid in March. In October last year, he had posted a video on social media announcing his intention to run, choosing the mountains of Copacabana in the department of Antioquia as a backdrop.
The country will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026.
“A place with deep meaning for me,” he said in the video. “It was here that my mother was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and was killed when I was about to turn five.”
His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was abducted by the Medellin Cartel and killed in 1991, one of Colombia’s most violent periods.
The attack on Uribe Turbay on Saturday shocked the nation and revived memories of an era when political violence affected Colombian public life.
Prominent political family
Uribe Turbay entered politics early, being elected to Bogota’s City Council at age 25 in 2012. In 2016, he was appointed the city’s secretary of government by then-Mayor Enrique Peñalosa.
In 2022, he became senator after being invited to run by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, no relation.
Uribe Turbay was born into a prominent political family. He is the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay Ayala, who served from 1978 to 1982, and the paternal grandson of Rodrigo Uribe Echavarría, a former director of the Liberal Party.
He was not considered a front-runner in next year’s race, according to recent polls, and was still facing competition within his political coalition. In his pre-campaign messaging, Uribe Turbay focused heavily on security, seeking to inspire investments and promote economic stability.
‘Reserved prognosis’
The senator is going through what authorities have described as “critical hours” after undergoing surgery at a private clinic in Bogotá.
“He survived the procedure; these are critical moments and hours for his survival,” said Bogotá Mayor Carlos Galán early Sunday after receiving information from the medical staff at the Fundación Santa Fe clinic.
“His condition is extremely serious and the prognosis is reserved,” the clinic added hours later in a new medical report.
Police arrested a 15-year-old boy for the shooting, whom they considered the perpetrator. Authorities have not disclosed a motive.
Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office condemned the attack, saying the country “cannot allow a return to dark times when violence sought to silence ideas, candidacies or political leadership.”
