Colombia

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Military & Security

Politics

Science & Technology

New Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national emergency after a 7.4 earthquake hit the country on his third day in office, El Tiempo reported on Aug. 10.

Colombia: Government Declares State of Emergency After Earthquake as Death Toll Reaches 224

United States

Colombia's new government carried out at least seven security and military operations against guerrilla groups across the country during its first 48 hours in office, Semana reported on Aug. 10.

Colombia: New President Tilts Colombia Toward Military Operations and U.S. Cooperation

Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella suspended the government transition process and accused outgoing President Gustavo Petro of plotting a coup, El Pais reported on July 7.

Colombia: Transition Suspension and Coup Plot Claims Underscore Heightened Polarization

Colombian far-right outsider candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won the June 21 presidential runoff election with 49.66% of the vote, compared with leftist Sen. Ivan Cepeda's 48.70%, according to an initial ballot count, El Colombiano reported the same day.

Colombia: De la Espriella Wins Presidential Vote, Cepeda Waits To Concede

Far-right outsider ​Abelardo De La Espriella received 43.7% of the votes in Colombia's first-round presidential election on May 31, while leftist Sen. Ivan Cepeda received 40.9%, El Tiempo reported the same day.

Colombia: Espriella Leads First Round Vote as Petro and Cepeda Cast Doubt on Results

Mexico

The White House announced on May 6 that U.S. President Donald Trump had signed the new United States Counterterrorism Strategy on May 5.

U.S.: President Trump Signs New Counterterrorism Strategy

Colombia's Constitutional Court unanimously struck down a tax on power generation companies and ordered the government to return the funds collected so far, El Pais reported on May 6. 

Colombia: Constitutional Court Overturns Tax Decree on Power Generators

Barbados

Venezuela

Energy

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez arrived in Barbados for her second official trip in office, El Pais reported on April 26.

Latin America: Rodriguez Visits Barbados After Meeting With Colombia's Petro

Assessments

Rescuers and volunteers search for survivors under a collapsed building in Pereira, Colombia, on Aug. 11, 2026, following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake will test President Abelardo de la Espriella's nascent administration, while simultaneously exacerbating fiscal and security challenges and creating significant operational and compliance risks for businesses.

Colombia's New Government Faces an Early Test After Major Earthquake

Iran

Israel

Lebanon

Europe

Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella (R) delivers a speech during a military parade commemorating Colombia's Independence Day in Medellin, Colombia, on July 20, 2026. 

Cyber

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Colombia's New President Takes Office, Brussels Gains AI Act Enforcement Powers

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Ecuador

Guyana

Peru

Pilgrims with flags from different countries gather at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 23, 2013, as they wait for the official opening of the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, which will be celebrated with a holy Mass. 

As many South American countries embrace right-leaning governments, their policies will increasingly align with those of the U.S. Trump administration, opening them to increased security cooperation, although economic integration remains unlikely.

What South America's Rightward Political Shift Means for U.S. Relations

China

Abelardo de la Espriella, who has since been declared president-elect, waves to supporters after casting his vote during the runoff election on June 21, 2026, in Barranquilla, Colombia. 

De la Espriella's administration will reverse many of the outgoing government's security, economic and social policies, restoring a hard-line anti-crime approach and deepening ties with the United States.

What de la Espriella's Victory Means for Colombia

Botswana

Lesotho

Namibia

South Africa

Eswatini

Russia

Vessels at anchorage June 18 in Bandar Abbas, Iran, along the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding signed June 17 is highly likely to remain in effect over the coming week, and negotiations toward a final deal will begin.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. and Iranian Talks, Colombia's Presidential Runoff

The Ateela 2 Oil Tanker on April 28 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Iran Discussions, Brussels To Unveil Tech Sovereignty Package

Supporters of Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda wave flags ahead of his closing campaign rally in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 24, 2026.

Global Elections

A left-wing victory would portend increased social spending and policy gridlock, a far-right win would portend austerity and decree-based governance, and a center-right win would foster market-friendly policies and stability.

Colombia's Presidential Election: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Germany

Greece

France

United Kingdom

Cyprus

Netherlands

Spain

Italy

Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran on March 2, 2026, after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top military leaders, prompting a new wave of Iranian retaliatory missile attacks across the region. 

The Weekly Rundown: War in the Middle East, U.S.-China Trade Talks

Iranian newspapers one of them (R) with a headline in Persian reading "Iran is ready for a big response," Jan. 27 in Tehran in Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of military options against Iran.

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S. and Colombian Presidents Meet, The Threat of U.S. Strikes on Iran

Nigeria

Cuba

Greenland

Taiwan

Norway

Ukraine

India

Pakistan

Global Trade

Social Issues

U.S.-China Relations

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026

Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez (C) gestures during the official picture of the new National Assembly in Caracas on Jan. 5, 2026. 

Venezuela's acting president is most likely to cooperate with the United States to keep the country's regime intact, but other, more volatile scenarios remain possible. 

Venezuela's Post-Maduro Outlook: Potential Scenarios

Belize

Dominican Republic

El Salvador

Guatemala

Haiti

Honduras

Bahamas

Trinidad and Tobago

Jamaica

A U.S. Marine V-22 Osprey takes off from Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport, formerly Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, on Sept. 13, 2025, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. 

The Trump administration will likely expand its attacks against alleged drug traffickers in the region over the next year, potentially extending to land-based targets, which will create safety, operational and compliance challenges for organizations.

The Outlook for U.S. Strikes on Drug Traffickers in Latin America and the Caribbean

Colombia is located at the strategic meeting point of Central and South America. The country shares a land border with Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, and has coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.    Colombia's modern borders began to take shape in 1831 with the division of Simon Bolivar's Gran Colombia. In 1903, the country lost another strategic territory when Panama gained its independence. Ever since, Colombia has had to maintain friendly relations with whoever controls the Panama Canal.    Colombia is dissected by three Andean mountain ranges: the Western, Central, and Eastern Cordilleras. Because of the country's tropical equatorial climate, major population centers are concentrated in temperate zones at higher altitudes.     The country's economic and political heartland is the capital city of Bogota. This core region has a population of roughly 8 million people. The Magdalena River Basin connects the core to Cartagena and Barranquilla, the country's largest ports.      The dense Amazonian rain forests to the south, the sparsely populated Orinoco plains to the east, and the Pacific coastline make up Colombia's periphery. These regions are home to valuable commodities such as oil and coal, as well as areas of drug trafficking and rebel insurgency. Consolidating control over these areas is currently Colombia's primary geographic challenge.      Looking forward, the country's natural resource wealth and close proximity to the United States could lead to ongoing economic opportunities. That said, the country will continue to be constrained by security challenges and by poor integration between Colombia's population centers, the resource-rich hinterlands and the coasts.

SITUATION REPORTS

Colombia: Government Declares State of Emergency After Earthquake as Death Toll Reaches 224

Colombia: New President Tilts Colombia Toward Military Operations and U.S. Cooperation

Colombia: Transition Suspension and Coup Plot Claims Underscore Heightened Polarization

Colombia: De la Espriella Wins Presidential Vote, Cepeda Waits To Concede

Colombia: Espriella Leads First Round Vote as Petro and Cepeda Cast Doubt on Results

U.S.: President Trump Signs New Counterterrorism Strategy

Colombia: Constitutional Court Overturns Tax Decree on Power Generators

Latin America: Rodriguez Visits Barbados After Meeting With Colombia's Petro

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