A hard-won peace, falling crime and growing foreign investment are reasons to be optimistic about Colombia – but the age-old problems of inequality, corruption and coca production refuse to go away.
With peace reached in Colombia after 53 years of conflict, demobilised guerilla insurgents are directing their attention to a less violent activity: agitating political debate in the nation.
From Colombia to Moldova and a fair few places in between, we take stock of what makes
the world go round – and yes, manicures and underwear both feature prominently.
In the centre of Bogotá stands late Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona’s striking Park Towers – a 1970s residential development that blends harmoniously with its mountainous surroundings and serves as a unique public space…
The Bolivian city of Santa Cruz has an independent spirit that sees it often pushing against the country’s charismatic socialist leader, President Evo Morales. But with a surrounding province that’s the breadbasket and fuel…
The mayor of Colombia’s second city is forging ahead with plans to fight inequality and cut the murder rate. His success may hinge on the creation of new jobs and an influx of foreign business.
Warnings that Paraguay's political uncertainty could be exploited by a guerilla group, the US's cuts of military aid to Colombia, and Argentina and China talk defence.
For years aligned with the US, Colombia is increasingly looking to its Latin neighbours. It’s all part of a growing regional integration movement and Colombia – host of the recent Summit of the Americas – is set to take…
From the presidents of Turkey and Colombia to the leader of the Israeli Labor party, Monocle interviews five political leaders from some of the world’s most volatile regions.
Decades of warfare against drug cartels and armed guerillas have provided Colombia with a valuable asset. Countries across Latin America are sending their troops and police to learn the techniques of its elite Jungla unit…
Cocaine consumption in the US is responsible for much of the violence that takes place in its ‘backyard’. But if demand were to suddenly plummet, would the criminal gangs and middlemen simply find another racket?
As Colombia looks to expand business ties with Asia, the country's principal port town of Buenaventura has huge economic potential. But its Pacific waterways are also a major transit for drug smugglers, bringing a new set…
How do you persuade a Somali pirate to release his hostages or rebel kidnappers to let their abductees go? We meet the negotiators out to fix the world in 2011.
Some live in danger and need armoured protection. Some deal with deep poverty and ongoing provincial wars. Others have ‘noodle’ meetings, tend to high society and take power naps and weekly fasts. from Nagasaki to washin…
Colombian president Álvaro Uribe’s Me and My Motorcade. Plus, the US prepares to launch its first national tourism organisation, Uruguay gears up for its presidential elections and São Paulo’s drivers get a brief respite…
Colombian president Álvaro Uribe’s Me and My Motorcade. Plus, the US prepares to launch its first national tourism organisation, Uruguay gears up for its presidential elections and São Paulo’s drivers get a brief respite…
Since 2007, the Colombian government has made over €50m from the sale of property confiscated from busted drug barons. And there are currently an estimated 1,200 buildings waiting to be sold. Plus a large collection of…
Colombian newspaper ‘El Espectador’ has survived financial woes, falling sales and a drugs cartel vendetta. Monocle meets its director as part of our series on firms keeping high-quality print publishing alive in an incr…
Enrique Peñalosa transformed Bogotá during his three terms as mayor of the Colombian capital and today is one of the world’s leading urban consultants. For lunch he chooses a local Italian restaurant with a South American…
The state of Santa Catarina in Brazil is booming, luring firms with its fortuitous location and skilled labour force. And Florianópolis, its capital, is regarded as one of the best places to live in the country.
In the 1980s the only deals being done in Cartagena were for cocaine. Now the drugs barons have been kicked out and the property kings are moving in to one of Latin America’s most promising cities.
