Misplaced Pages

← 2007 2006 2005 2008 in Colombia → 2009 2010 2011
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2008 Timeline of Colombian history

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in Colombia.

Incumbents

• President: Álvaro Uribe Vélez
• Vice President: Francisco Santos Calderón

Events

January

• January 10 - FARC guerrillas release Colombian hostages Clara Rojas and Consuelo González.

February

• February 27 - Colombian FARC rebels release four former members of Congress, held hostage since 2001 and 2002, in a deal brokered by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.

March

• March 2 - President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez orders the closure of the Venezuelan embassy in Colombia and moves ten battalions to the Colombian-Venezuelan border in response to the killing of FARC leader Raúl Reyes in Ecuador by Colombian armed forces the previous day. Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, orders troops to the Colombian border. The Colombian government accuses Correa of having "a relationship and commitments" with FARC.
• March 14 - Colombian Ministry of National Defense Juan Manuel Santos says the government will pay US$2.5 million to Pedro Pablo Montoya, the FARC rebel who killed Iván Ríos.

April

• April 6 - Mark Penn resigns as chief strategist for the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign. This comes in the wake of revelations that he performed lobbying work for the Colombian government, regarding a free trade pact that Senator Clinton opposes.
• April 14 - The Nevado del Huila volcano erupts in Colombia, causing thousands to evacuate.

May

• May 13 - Colombia extradites 14 former paramilitary leaders, including Salvatore Mancuso, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, and Diego Murillo Bejarano, to the United States where they have been charged with drug trafficking
• May 15 - Interpol confirms that Colombia did not tamper with computer files in hardware seized from Raul Reyes. This alleged that Venezuela and Ecuador provided funding, assistance and drug routes to the terrorist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. However, Interpol stated that they had not looked at the content of the files, only their authenticity.
• May 18 - A senior Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia commander known as "Karina" surrenders to Colombian authorities.
• May 24 - A 5.9 earthquake with its epicentre in the Department of Meta strikes the Central and West areas of Colombia; at least 11 people are killed with over 4000 injuries reported.

June

• June 24 - Representing Pope Benedict XVI, Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos is pressing the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X to accept five conditions, including respect for the pope and his authority, as part of a reconciliation offer.

July

• July 2 - Íngrid Betancourt, held captive by the FARC guerilla for six years, is rescued in an operation by the Colombian government.
• July 20 - The Colombian diaspora celebrates Colombia's Independence Day with concerts and marches against violence, kidnapping and the FARC in Bogotá, Leticia, the country's other 1,119 cities and municipalities, and events in cities around the world including Paris (attended by Ingrid Betancourt), London, Washington, D.C., New York City and Miami.

October

• October 26 - Óscar Tulio Lizcano, a Conservative congressman kidnapped by the FARC in August 2000, is freed by the military in Chocó Department.

November

• November 22 - The government of Colombia confirms that the eruption of Nevado del Huila, a volcano in southern Colombia, has led to at least 10 deaths in recent days and the evacuation of 12,000 people.

References

1. "Family reunions for Farc hostages". 11 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
2. "Colombian hostages freed by Farc". 28 February 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
3. "Colombia neighbours deploy troops". 3 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
4. "Colombia to pay ex-rebel reward". 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
5. "Clinton Campaign Strategist Mark Penn Steps Down". 6 April 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
6. "Thousands flee erupting Colombian volcano". 15 April 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
7. "Colombian ex-warlords sent to US". 13 May 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
8. "Farc rebel link files 'genuine'". 16 May 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
9. "Colombia rebel leader surrenders". 18 May 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
10. "Colombia earthquake toll climbs to 11". 26 May 2008. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
11. "Vatican presses traditionalists with reconciliation expiration date". 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
12. "Colombia hostage Betancourt freed". 3 July 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
13. "Betancourt in plea to Farc rebels". 20 July 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
14. "Colombian army frees Farc hostage". 26 October 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
15. "Colombia volcano claims 10 lives". 23 November 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

External links

• Media related to 2008 in Colombia at Wikimedia Commons

• Colombia

v t e Years in Colombia (since 1810)
19th century	1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1848 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

• 2008 in Colombia
• 2000s in Colombia
• Years of the 21st century in Colombia
• 2008 by country
• 2008 in South America