President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will arrive in Colombia this weekend; he plans to meet with the Government’s group of negotiators in the peace process with the Farc guerrilla. Mr. Carter will “talk about the peace process, meet with the team, with some cabinet members and of course I will be offering a dinner that night,” Mr. Santos said.

The Government’s team of negotiators will head back to Cuba on Sunday evening to resume talks with Farc.

In contrast to more cautious predictions made by analysts and research centers like Anif and Fedesarrollo, Bancolombia’s finance team believes Colombia’s economic growth may surpass the 4,5 percent average and claimed it’s “highly likely that the Government’s investments will exceed expectations.”

Free housing plans and 40 billion pesos in public works scheduled for the next few years support the ambitious forecast, but Bancolombia also warned that there’s a chance negative political developments could alter the course of foreign investment.

The situation is nothing short of chaotic at the government offices of Bolívar and Atlántico, where hundreds of people are attempting to get a new passport or renew an old one. Employees are having to serve about 400 customers daily, up from an average of 100 each day.

The reason, according to the nation’s Foreign Relations Ministry, is that many travelers wait until the last minute to update their documents before going on vacation; however, many Venezuelan residents have had trouble returning to the neighbor country, an issue the Ministry says needs to be resolved there and not in Colombia.

In a letter addressed to the Foreign Relations Ministry, the Governors of Bolivar and Atlántico said the situation was brought on by “external causes” and therefore “warrants intervention from the National Government.”

Medellín’s ombudsman, Rodrigo Ardila, said he trusts that the Defender of the People (Defensor del Pueblo), Jorge Armando Otálora, who visited the Bellavista Prison, will effectively relay a message to the National Government. “Through him I am certain the Government will hear us,” Ardila said, “because the Justice Minister visited and I haven’t seen the necessary results.”

Ardila was referring to situations in prisons like Bellavista, El Pedregal and El Pesebre, where overcrowding, poor healthcare and inadequate nutrition are serious concerns and, in Bellavista alone, caused 17 deaths in 2012.

On what was supposed to be the day of Hugo Chávez’ inauguration for the 2013-2019 term, supporters gathered in the heart of Caracas to express their approval of the Supreme Court’s decision to postpone the ceremony and allow the President to be sworn in when he is able to return to the country. Chávez is currently in Cuba being treated for a respiratory infection that came on after his fourth cancer-related surgery. He was diagnosed a year and a half ago.

After a heated controversy in Venezuela between ‘chavistas’ and the opposition, the Supreme Court decided that it was unnecessary for Chávez to be sworn in because he is a reelected president. The Court also ruled that the current administration, whose term technically should have ended today, will remain in office with vice-president, Nicolas Maduro, at the head.

“The Revolution, Venezuela’s United Socialist Party (PSUV), and we ask all other parties and social groups to take to the streets and support the decision made by the Supreme Court,” the head of the National Assembly , Diosdado Cabello, said urging people to participate in the demonstration.

Ceremonies are scheduled to take place both at Miraflores Palace and the Caracas Theatre. The Presidents of Uruguay, José Mujica; Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and Bolivia, Evo Morales, arrived early Thursday and will attend; Argentina and Ecuador, among other countries, sent representatives.