Commemorations taking place nearly throughout Latin America 40 years after the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara on Oct. 8, 1967, indicate just how much the world has changed since then—for better and for worse. Most significantly, in Bolivia—where he met… Read moreChe Guevara legacy contested 40 years after his death
A federal judge in Washington DC declared a mistrial Oct. 4 in the cocaine trafficking trial of Colombian guerilla leader Ricardo Palmera, AKA Simón Trinidad. AP writes: “The US government had hoped a conviction would underscore its view that the… Read moreMistrial declared in US case against FARC leader —again
From Editor & Publisher, Oct. 5: Gonzalo Guillen, a reporter for The Miami Herald’s Spanish-language daily El Nuevo Herald, has fled Colombia after President Alvaro Uribe accused him of ghost-writing a book linking the president to the notorious drug dealer… Read moreReporter flees Colombia following Uribe-Escobar link claims
Mexico’s underground Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) issued a communique Oct. 3 to the leadership of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), expressing solidarity and pledging to “avoid to the maximum” any action which could affect them or compromise their security…. Read moreMexico: EPR guerillas express solidarity with Zapatistas
Mexican officials say the US has committed to giving their administration $1 billion over the next two years to fight drug trafficking. Carlos Rico, Mexico’s undersecretary for North American affairs, said the “Joint Strategy to Combat Organized Crime”—which would have… Read moreWhite House prepares “Plan Mexico” drug war package
Abu Mansur Robow, ex-deputy defense secretary with Somalia’s ousted Islamic Courts movement, told Mogadishu radio Oct. 3 that his Shabaab resistance group has “nothing to do” with the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), recently founded by Somali opposition… Read moreSplit in Somali resistance?
Over at the CIA, they must really be scratching their heads over Eritrea. It is hosting the exiled Islamist leaders of Somalia and is accused by Washington of backing Islamist insurgents there. But the New York Times reports Oct. 5… Read moreWhat is Eritrea’s Sudan strategy?
From the New York Times, Oct. 5: 3 Youths Die in Connecticut Car Crash WOLCOTT, Conn. — Anthony Apruzzese, a 17-year-old high school senior, used to joke on Facebook about his history of reckless driving. But on Thursday the kidding… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Four clandestine armed groups in Mexico issued a communique Sept. 27 calling for a “common front” to “recuperate the fatherland,” which they say has been hijacked by a “rightist usurping minority.” The statement also called for the reappearance alive of… Read moreMexico: guerillas call for “common front”
Democratic Voice of Burma Oct. 2 reports claims from members of the Burmese junta’s Swan Arr Shin militia that thousands of detained monks could be headed for labor camps: Monks currently detained at the government technical college compound in Insein… Read moreBurma: labor camps for detained monks —”energy blackmail” silences neighbors
While the Burmese regime still touts an official count of 10 dead in five days of repression, the UK’s Daily Mail reports Oct. 2 claims of a “a former intelligence officer in Burma’s ruling junta that thousands of protesters have… Read moreHow many killed in Burma repression?
For all the opprobrium being directed at China over its support for the repressive Burma regime, the US corporate presence is going unexamined. As we recently noted, the new Burma sanctions announced by Bush mean no more than a visa… Read moreUnocal still in Burma
