Thursday Mar 2, 2023 - Colombia - Declassified CIA report, Metaverse court hearing, Heinz free boat

These are the trending news headlines in Colombia on Thursday March 2, 2023

Declassified CIA report reveals Colombia's army was behind the "narco-terrorism" that plagued Medellin in the 1980s, contradicting decades of government propaganda. According to the report, local authorities were behind many of the assassinations and massacres in Medellin from the mid-80s to the early 2000s. The terror campaign was coordinated by the 4th Brigade's intelligence chief, lieutenant colonel Plinio Correa, and carried out by members of intelligence units B2 and the 10th Brigade. The report also mentions the involvement of an unidentified private right-wing paramilitary group, and a former cartel associate known as "Rambo," who would later form the terrorist group "Los Pepes." The report sheds light on a dark period in Colombia's history and challenges long-standing beliefs about the source of violence in Medellin.

Colombia has made history by hosting its first-ever court hearing in the metaverse, marking a new milestone for the virtual world. The administrative court of Magdalena held a court session from the metaverse on February 15th to hear a case against the Colombian Ministry of Defence and the National Police. The court magistrate accepted a direct request from the plaintiff to hold the public audience in the metaverse. During the hearing, the magistrate highlighted that the metaverse allowed for “a real interaction” and was aimed at making procedural cases more efficient. The hearing was streamed live on Youtube and watched by over 68 thousand people. The Colombian courtroom hosted the legal session in Horizon Workrooms 18, the free virtual collaborative application developed by Meta.

A man who survived for almost a month lost at sea by eating ketchup is getting a new boat from Heinz. The US ketchup manufacturer launched the #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy campaign on social media, which quickly went viral. Elvis François was eventually found and rescued, but his old boat had been abandoned. Now Heinz has made contact with him to buy him a new sailing vessel, and they are currently working out the details. François survived by eating Heinz ketchup, garlic powder, and rainwater collected with a cloth. He also scrawled “help” on his boat’s hull.

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