30 January – President Samper calls a special Congress into session and admits that money tied to drug trafficking aided his 1994 election campaign, but insists he was deceived. He demands that Congress investigate the situation and himself to determine responsibility.[2]
7 May – The president of the Patriotic Union (UP) party, Aida Abella, is attacked on the Autopista Norte Highway in Bogotá.[5]Right-wing paramilitary groups and gangs who have conducted campaigns of violence against the UP, previously killing over 3,000 members, are suspected to be responsible. She manages to escape unharmed but flees to Switzerland a week later as a result of further threats to her life.[6]
President Samper signs Law 294, establishing acts of inter-familial violence, such as spousal rape, as crimes and resources/legal recourse for victims.[5]
August
16 August – 3 people die in a crowd crush trying to get into a Shakira concert in Barranquilla, 20 were also injured.[8]
30 August – Around 500 guerrillas belonging to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People's Army (FARC-EP) attack Las Delicias military base in Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo. During the attack, 27 National Army soldiers die, 60 are kidnapped, and 16 are wounded. 12 FARC members are also killed and 25 are injured.[9][10]
4 September – The FARC attack a military base in Guaviare, three weeks of guerrilla warfare follow that kills over 130 people.
16 September over 25,000 residents of Facatativá, Cundinamarca protest over after many received increased energy bills, with rate increases as high as 300%.[11]
5 November – The Colombian ambassador to the European Union (EU) resigns after the European Parliament passes a resolution that called for him to step down. This followed controversy over land he claimed as his property, of which 106 families were displaced from by violent paramilitaries earlier in the year.[5]
December
31 December – A massacre is carried out by paramilitaries in Dabeiba, Antioquia; killing 11 people, including 2 llocal eaders of the indigenous Nendo people.[5]
↑ "RECONOCER LAS FALLAS"[Recognize the Failures]. Semana (in Spanish). 4 June 1998. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
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