On October 13th the administration of the president, Juan Manuel Santos, and the leftist guerrillas of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) finalised a new round of negotiations in Cuba amid growing uncertainty over the future of the peace process.

Colombia, led by its second largest city Medellin, has the most unequal urban areas in Latin America, according to the United Nations. While Latin America as a whole has been making strides to combat inequality, lowering rates of unequal income distribution across the region over the past decade, Colombia has bucked the trend, experiencing a 15 percent increase in inequality in urban areas over the last 20 years.

The Medellin mafia, fragmented through bitter infighting, has called a truce and made an agreement with their rivals the Urabeños, seeking to rebuild the criminal hegemony once enjoyed by the legendary underworld figure known as "Don Berna." However, creating a Berna replica, which relied on strong connections with the country's elite, may prove difficult.

The Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that it would host a global meeting to discuss how the rules and regulations of international humanitarian law can be integrated into Colombia’s military’s planning and operations.

Take the typical, white, middle-class American (which is a far smaller percentage of the population than you might think) and ask them to free-associate with the country of Colombia. What springs immediately to mind isn’t likely to be flattering. I suspect it might be limited to jungles filled with FARC soldiers and the legacy of Pablo Escobar, or maybe the time when a Colombian scored an own goal against the US in the World Cup and on his return home was murdered in retaliation for his mistake.

A group of young Colombian musicians known as “Cantares del Pacifico” is crossing the Atlantic for five days in a cultural exchange of music and dance with the west African nation of Ghana. The visit comes after opening diplomatic relationship between the two countries following the establishment of shared embassy between Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru in Ghana under the Cali Declaration made in recent accord with the Pacific Alliance.

Latin America’s stock markets have provided a nail-biting roller-coaster for investors. Prices roared higher before the global financial crisis in 2007, and then collapsed. They have failed to regain those highs, despite values almost doubling in 2009. This year has been particularly poor. While Western markets have been in buoyant mood in 2013, Latin America shares have fallen by nearly 20pc.

US religious and social leader Jesse Jackson urged Colombia on Tuesday to end its almost half a century armed conflict through reconciliation. Jackson was in the South American country to take part in a summit of Afro-descendant leaders held in the Caribbean port city of Cartagena. “I promote reconciliation. I some cases, when you can’t pick one side or the other, one should be siding with reconciliation,” the reverend said during a speech.