Manuel Rueda

Manuel Rueda is a freelance journalist based in Bogota, Colombia where he has been living for the past five years. Manuel has covered the peace deal between Colombia's government and the FARC rebels, Venezuela's political crisis and how Colombia is adapting to the arrival of more than one million Venezuelan migrants. He is a dual citizen of Colombia and Venezuela and always ready to travel. Last year he also produced stories in Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil.  

Lake Palcacocha is located in Peru's Ancash region, at 15,000 feet above sea level.

'We are worried': Melting glaciers lead to dangerous overflow in this Peruvian lake

As ice sheets from glaciers melt, dozens of lakes around the world risk overflowing, causing potentially deadly avalanches and flooding in nearby towns and villages. In Huaraz, Peru, residents hope to find ways to prevent Lake Palcacocha from overflowing again — before it's too late.

'We are worried': Melting glaciers lead to dangerous overflow in this Peruvian lake
people in line

Thousands of passengers are stranded after Colombia’s Viva Air grounds flights 

Thousands of passengers are stranded after Colombia’s Viva Air grounds flights 
To get certified by the Starlight Foundation, Villa de Leyva, Colombia, plans to change its streetlights so they only point downward and use light bulbs with warmer colored temperatures.

This Colombian town is dimming its lights to attract more tourists to view the night sky

This Colombian town is dimming its lights to attract more tourists to view the night sky
Indigenous activists run through the streets of Lima during a recent protest against Dina Boluarte's goverment. 

'Our people have always struggled:' Peru's Indigenous groups aim for more power in Congress

'Our people have always struggled:' Peru's Indigenous groups aim for more power in Congress
The Inca temple of Sacsayhuamán gets only a handful of visitors per day now, as tourists cancel their trips to Cusco amid protests taking place in Peru.

Protests across Peru are keeping tourists away from the country’s top travel destinations

Protests across Peru are keeping tourists away from the country’s top travel destinations
protest

Peru protests reveal ethnic and regional divides

More than 50 people have been killed in southern Peru in protests that broke out in December, and have resulted in street battles between police forces and largely Indigenous groups of protesters who have fought back with rocks, slingshots and homemade rockets.

Peru protests reveal ethnic and regional divides
Bullfighting is still legal in the Colombian city of Manizales, which holds a major festival on the first week of January.

Colombia’s plan to ban bullfighting sparks debate on tradition, animal rights

Bullfighting has become less popular as views about animal rights change in Colombia. But in some parts of the country, it is still a highly esteemed tradition.

Colombia’s plan to ban bullfighting sparks debate on tradition, animal rights
cows in the grass

To reduce its emissions, Colombian ranch experiments with a new variety of grass 

In the remote Colombian province of Vichada, mostly covered by savannah and small forests, the San Jose ranch is trying to show that there are ways for cattle ranching to be more environmentally friendly — and still be profitable. 

To reduce its emissions, Colombian ranch experiments with a new variety of grass 
people around a table

Colombia’s govt launches peace talks with the nation’s largest-remaining rebel group

Talks with the rebels started on Nov. 22 in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas where delegates from both sides fielded questions from journalists. 

Colombia’s govt launches peace talks with the nation’s largest-remaining rebel group
Venezuelan migrants board a boat in the Colombian city of Necocli that will take them closer to Panama, the next stop on the way to the United States

New Biden policy leaves thousands of Venezuelan migrants stranded

The Biden administration announced a plan that will automatically reject all Venezuelans seeking asylum at the US border with Mexico if they enter the country without authorization. The deal will only benefit a fraction of asylum-seekers.

New Biden policy leaves thousands of Venezuelan migrants stranded
Children play in a flooded area of Leticia, Colombia, Feb. 14, 2017, located by the Amazon River, on the border with Brazil and Peru.

Brazil’s neighbors wary of environmental impact of a Bolsonaro victory

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has promised to continue facilitating mining and agro industry in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon if he wins another four-year term. But destruction of the Amazon affects the air quality and jeopardizes the water supply in neighboring countries.

Brazil’s neighbors wary of environmental impact of a Bolsonaro victory
At a job fair in Bogotá, psychologist Nicolas Londoño showed groups of young men how to change a baby's diapers.  Londoño works with Care School for Men, an educational program funded by the city government. 

‘We can all learn to care’: Colombia’s capital city wants men to do more chores at home

Bogotá's Care School for Men aims to battle centuries of living in a culture that teaches men to focus on breadwinning instead of caregiving.

‘We can all learn to care’: Colombia’s capital city wants men to do more chores at home
Lawmakers attend the inauguration of the congressional session in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

‘We have to close the gap’: Some politicians in Colombia say it’s time to take pay cuts

Congress members in Colombia are earning 35 times as much as regular workers. Sen. Jonathan Pulido Hernandez says it's time for lawmakers to take pay cuts in order to show restraint with public funds and connect more with the people they represent. But not everyone's on board.

‘We have to close the gap’: Some politicians in Colombia say it’s time to take pay cuts
Most of those killed have been rookie officers in their twenties who were patrolling towns in the north of Colombia.

Colombia’s police come under fire from drug trafficking groups

A recent wave of attacks against police has put Colombia’s security forces on edge. The government has blamed most of the recent police killings on the Gulf Clan, a drug-trafficking group that runs extortion rackets and exports cocaine to the US.

Colombia’s police come under fire from drug trafficking groups
man with albums

Colombia’s Meridian Brothers breathe new life into salsa music with the help of a traditional record label 

Using a keyboard, a saxophone, a bass guitar and percussion, Eblis Alvarez is recreating the classical salsa sound developed by Latino immigrants in New York in the 1970s and giving it somewhat of a psychedelic twist.

Colombia’s Meridian Brothers breathe new life into salsa music with the help of a traditional record label