Colombian authorities arrest active and retired military personnel over weapons trafficking

BOGOTA, Colombia — Authorities in Colombia on Saturday arrested a group of nine active and retired military personnel over weapons trafficking accusations stemming from a wider investigation into a grenade attack last year in the capital.

Colombia's army in a statement said those arrested include three non-commissioned officers and two soldiers as well as four retired military personnel. All face conspiracy charges.

The investigation stems from an attack last year near a toll booth in Bogotá in which authorities later determined the grenades used belonged to the army. No one was injured in the attack.

The arrests are the second in as many months linking members of the armed forces to trafficking of weapons.

After two weeks of negotiations, delegates on Saturday agreed at the United Nations conference on biodiversity to establish a subsidiary body that will include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation, a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize the role of the descendants of some regions' original inhabitants in protecting land and combating climate change.