Mexico
Mexico: El Chapo son abducted by cartel rivals
The Mexican state of Jalisco is bracing for a feared explosion of violencie after the son of the country's top drug lord, "Chapo" Guzmán, was kidnapped by rivals.
Author: CounterVortex
Mexico
Mexico: mothers unearth clandestine burial sites
A group of mothers in Veracruz who came together to search for missing loved ones announced the disovery of 28 clandestine graves with remains of some 40 bodies.
Iran
Iran: Ahwazi farmers protest land-grab
Ahwazi Arab farmers in Iran's Khuzestan province protested outside the state sugar refinery to oppose the company's confiscation of 1,000 hectares of agricultural land.
Daraya: from roses to evacuation
The Syrian town of Daraya, now being completely evacuated by regime forces, is iconic for the country's revolution. It saw the strongest non-violent resistance to the regime in the early days of the uprising, with efforts to promote cross-sectarian co-existence. Protesters… Read moreDaraya: from roses to evacuation
Greater Middle East
Fall of Daraya: bitter fruit of Syria’s betrayal
After four years of siege and bombardment, the evacuation is underway of civilians and rebels from Daraya, the Damascus suburb that was an early cradle of the revolution.
The Andes
Bolivia: vice-minister killed by protesting miners
A deputy interior minister in Bolivia's government was abducted and killed by striking miners in a conflict over privatization of mineral claims on the Altiplano.
The Andes
Ecuador: rival demonstrators fill streets of Quito
Thousands marched peacefully in Quito to oppose the "totalitarianism and repression" of President Rafael Correa—whose supporters held large counter-demonstrations.
Southern Cone
Argentina: ex-general gets life in ‘dirty war’ trial
A court in the Argentine province of Córdoba handed life sentences to 28 former military officers over "crimes against humanity" committed under the dictatorship.
Watching the Shadows
Propaganda and the dystopia of social media
Bill Weinberg rants against the totalizing propaganda environment of social media, destroying our ability to think, analyze and access information outside a "confirmation bias" bubble.
Colombia: terror targets indigenous leaders
Village leaders report that a total of 18 indigenous campesinos in the north of Colombia's Cauca department have been killed this year, in a presumed paramilitary campaign of intimidation. In one case last month, a pregnant woman was among three… Read moreColombia: terror targets indigenous leaders
The Andes
FARC demobilization advances —amid dissent
The FARC established a Verification Team to oversee demobilization of their fighters—amid dissent both from Colombia's right-wing establishment and dissident rebel factions.
The Andes
Colombia: illegal mining the ‘new coca’?
Outlaw mining operations are a growing sideline for Colombia's narco networks, in a nexus with paramilitaries and companies operating on the margins of the law.