The Andes

Peru: incoming admin threatens communal lands

Peru's president-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has unveiled a platform that calls for privatizing and "individualizing" communal lands to facilitate mineral and agribusiness development.

The Andes

Venezuela: left-dissident party raided

Venezuelan investigative police raided the offices of the Trotskyist left-opposition organization Marea Socialista in Caracas on the orders of a local court.

The Andes

Ecuador: vigil for imprisoned protesters

A court in Ecuador's city of Loja sentenced two indigenous activists to four years in prison for their role in protests last year. Supporters gathered outside the courthouse.

Inner Asia

Protests rock Kazakhstan over land-grabbing

Hundreds have been detained in protests across Kazakhstan over a new government policy to privatize farmlands and open the agricultural sector to foreign capital.

The Andes

Peasant strike rocks Colombia

Campesinos launched a strike across Colombia, with some 100,000 blocking highways and effectively shutting down at least half of the country's 32 departments.

Mexico

Mexican judge approves Chapo extradition

A federal judge in Mexico ruled that drug lord "Chapo" Guzmán may be extradited to the US—where he faces numerous federal charges of trafficking, kidnapping and murder.