Colombia, a top source of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, eradicated more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of the crop last year, President Ivan Duque said on Thursday (January 9).

Colombia eradicates record amount of coca fields last year

Talks between the Colombian government and the unions and student organizations that are planning major protests this week ended without advances on Tuesday (December 03), as the country prepares for its third national strike since late November.

Talks between Colombia strike committee, government end in deadlock

Colombian President Ivan Duque called on Saturday for coordinated international sanctions targeting Venezuela to help stop President Nicolas Maduro's support for Colombian rebels and drug traffickers from destabilizing Latin America.

Duque, who accuses Maduro of providing a safe haven for Colombian rebel fighters from the now-demobilized FARC guerrilla group and the still-active ELN rebels, compared the Venezuelan leader to former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who was put on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for alleged war crimes in conflicts that destabilized the Balkans.

"We should look at communal sanctions and actions so that the threat of (Venezuela) protecting terrorism in its territory ends," Duque told Reuters before traveling to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

"The international community must understand that the dictatorship has to come to an end soon because the humanitarian tragedy, in addition to the consolidation of a dictatorial regime that is coexisting with drug cartels and with terrorism, is a threat for the whole Western hemisphere and for the stability of the world."

Maduro accuses Colombia of preparing to attack Venezuela and has repeatedly warned of an invasion coordinated with the US government.

Colombia is the top destination for Venezuelans fleeing widespread shortages of food and medicine some 1.4 million now reside in Colombia.

Colombian President Ivan Duque called on Saturday for coordinated international sanctions targeting Venezuela to help stop President Nicolas Maduro's support for Colombian rebels and drug traffickers from destabilizing Latin America.

Colombian President Ivan Duque called on Saturday for coordinated international sanctions targeting Venezuela to help stop President Nicolas Maduro's support for Colombian rebels and drug traffickers from destabilizing Latin America. Duque, who accuses Maduro of providing a safe haven for Colombian rebel fighters from the now-demobilized FARC guerrilla group and the still-active ELN rebels, compared the Venezuelan leader to former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who was put on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for alleged war crimes in conflicts that destabilized the Balkans. "We should look at communal sanctions and actions so that the threat of (Venezuela) protecting terrorism in its territory ends," Duque told Reuters before traveling to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. "The international community must understand that the dictatorship has to come to an end soon because the humanitarian tragedy, in addition to the consolidation of a dictatorial regime that is coexisting with drug cartels and with terrorism, is a threat for the whole Western hemisphere and for the stability of the world." Maduro accuses Colombia of preparing to attack Venezuela and has repeatedly warned of an invasion coordinated with the US government. Colombia is the top destination for Venezuelans fleeing widespread shortages of food and medicine some 1.4 million now reside in Colombia.

Coordinated sanctions could stop Maduro from destabilizing region: Colombian President Ivan Duque