The Commander of the Military Forces, General Alejandro Navas, said on Thursday that authorities couldn’t confirm that French war correspondent, Romeo Langlois, is being held hostage by the Farc guerrilla.

Last Tuesday a female alleging to be a member of the guerrilla made a phone call in which she announced that Farc’s 15^th front had declared Langlois a “prisoner of war.” However, General Navas said that the origin of all the messages received so far is unknown, and “that’s why we can’t say with certainty whether or not that unit has the French reporter.” He said all the information is currently being analyzed

On Wednesday the Reporters without Border organization said it received direct confirmation that Langlois was kidnapped by Farc and demanded his immediate release.

The Atlético Nacional soccer team confirmed that Juan Carlos Osorio is likely to be the permanent replacement for Santiago Escobar as head coach, after a verbal agreement was reached with Osorio.

The Pereira native would have Pompilio Paez as assistant coach and Jorge Rios as physical trainer. In an interview with EL COLOMBIANO, club president Juan Carlos de la Cuesta said a deadline has not been set to appoint a new coach and that it all depends on when negotiations are finalized with the person selected. De la Cuesta said that what the club is looking for is a strategist who “meets technical and human characteristics that contribute to the achievement of the athletic goals outlined”.

Osorio will be introduced next week, which means Norberto Peluffo will be the head coach for the game against Vélez Sarsfield on May 8^th in Argentina.

In the Unasur security meetings underway in Cartagena, Argentina’s Minister of Defense, Nilda Garre, denounced the presence of Colombian drug traffickers in her country. She expressed concern over the presence of nearly 33 drug traffickers, including a sister in law of Daniel Barrera Barrera, alias “El Loco”.

According to analyst, Afredo Rangel, new trafficking routes are making their way through Argentina headed for Africa and even Europe, “but not just Colombian drugs, also Peruvian and Bolivian. Peru is competing to be the top cocaine producer in the world,” he said. In an effort to fight the spread of drug trafficking throughout the region, the ministers of defense of Colombia and Brazil suggested creating a group to coordinate the fight against transnational crime.

In Colombia, Antioquia stands to reap the most benefits from the opportunities that will arise as a result of the free trade agreement with the United States, set to go into effect on May 15th. Antioquia makes 44 percent of its external sales and has the highest level of manufactured exports per capita to the United States.

A study by Araújo Ibarra & Associates revealed during a forum in Plaza Mayor concludes that out of 603 Colombian high-potential industrial and agricultural goods, Antioquia produces or is capable of producing 485.