International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Fotografía de la Cancillería colombiana relacionada con los cuestionamientos sobre los acuerdos bilaterales de minerales críticos con Estados Unidos.
Los cuestionamientos de congresistas sobre la transparencia de los acuerdos de cooperación minera con Estados Unidos anteceden al fallo de tutela. Crédito: Cancillería. · Cancillería

Court orders the Presidency to hand over the U.S. mining agreements within 48 hours

The Twenty-Seventh Labour Court of the Bogotá Circuit gave the Presidency 48 hours to hand over the memoranda with the United States on critical minerals and…

--- The context --- A court ordered Colombia's Presidency to hand over, within 48 hours, the information on the memoranda and agreements with the United States for the exploration, exploitation and processing of critical minerals and rare earths. The decision comes after questioning by lawmakers about agreements that, according to the source, seek to strengthen supply chains for strategic resources. Rare earths are elements used in electronic components and other industrial applications. With strategic resources, it also matters who could see what was signed. --- The facts --- Representative José Luis Bohórquez reported that he obtained a favourable tutela ruling. As he explained in a video on X, the decision was adopted by the Twenty-Seventh Labour Court of the Bogotá Circuit and sets 48 hours to hand over the documents. Bohórquez held that the information will reveal the commitments signed and that his purpose is to make the terms public. Earlier, Senator Duvalier Sánchez, of the Green Alliance, requested explanations and, as he noted, was told the documents were under reserve. --- The positions --- Sánchez warned that these are strategic resources for the country, its territories and communities, and that their future cannot be decided without Colombians knowing what is agreed, with whom and under what conditions. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo announced in Ibagué on October 10 that Tolima projects on critical minerals could be presented at Milagro Week, in New York between November 16 and 19. Marco Emilio Hincapié questioned promoting projects without heeding community decisions and recalled Piedras and Cajamarca, where more than 98% rejected megamining in 2017. Andrés Camacho questioned the guarantees of sovereignty and industrialization, and Renzo García defended respecting Tolima's decisions and protecting water, biodiversity and the agricultural vocation. --- What remains unknown --- The source clarifies a key limit: the Milagro Week announcement refers to initiatives that could be presented to potential financiers, without specifying which projects will go or any definitive exploitation decision in a determined area. Restrepo said initiatives with progress and financing possibilities will be prioritized, but detailed no projects. The content of the memoranda is also unknown. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the Presidency hand over the documents within the 48 hours set by the Twenty-Seventh Labour Court of the Bogotá Circuit? What commitments do they contain on exploration, exploitation and processing? Which Tolima projects, if any, will go to Milagro Week, from November 16 to 19? --- EPM analysis --- The progressive reading begins with a simple rule: reserve cannot govern as the norm over strategic resources. That a senator requested information and was answered with reserve, and that a tutela was needed to open the documents, shows a deficit of democratic control that this ruling corrects. That reading also recognizes what the source obliges it to recognize: there is no definitive exploitation decision nor specified projects, and it would be unfair to present as an accomplished fact an intention before financiers. Publishing now allows a timely debate. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the ruling ordering delivery within 48 hours of the memoranda on critical minerals and rare earths defends an elementary principle: Colombians have the right to know what was agreed on strategic resources before any project moves forward. The Presidency must comply with the order of the Twenty-Seventh Labour Court of the Bogotá Circuit without delay and publish the full documents, because prolonged reserve feeds distrust and leaves communities without tools to decide on their territory, water and collective future with verifiable and timely information.
📤 Share on Telegram

¿Te gustó este artículo? Recibe cobertura global en tu correo.

Suscríbete gratis / Subscribe free