Gustavo Petro
Colombia's February unemployment rate drops to 9.2%
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Dane reported Colombia's February 2026 unemployment rate at 9.2%, the lowest for any February since 2001, with 2.45 million unemployed people. Occupied population rose to 24.09 million, up 624,000 from February 2025. President Gustavo Petro and Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino hailed the figures and defended the minimum wage increase.
President Gustavo Petro again protested US bombings in the Caribbean during the christening of the oceanic patrol boat ARC ‘24 de Julio’, Colombia's largest domestically built vessel. He handed it over to the National Navy and highlighted its role in seizing cocaine shipments. He also called for developing national arms production.
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Two US federal prosecutors are investigating possible links between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and drug traffickers, according to a March 20, 2026, New York Times report. Petro denied the claims, stating no such probe exists against him in Colombia. Colombia's US embassy urged caution regarding reports based on anonymous sources.