The Andes
Bolivia: prison corruption scandal widens
A Brooklyn businessman was freed from prison in Bolivia on money-laundering charges after he accused authorities of extorting him and illegally seizing his goods.
Author: CounterVortex
Mexico
Campesinos block gold mine in Zacatecas
Campesinos in Zacatecas are blocking the gates of a gold mine owned by magnate Carlos Slim to protest ecological impacts on their communal lands.
Mexico
Mexico: bloody Christmas in Michoacán, Sinaloa
A spate of shootouts between rival cartels and police forces left over 20 dead around the Christmas holiday in the Mexican states of Michoacán, Jalisco and Sinaloa.
Africa
Central African Republic rebels advance
Rebels who have taken up arms again in the Central African Republic’s south, accusing the regime of not honoring peace accords, have seized several towns in the south.
North Africa
Mali: shrines destroyed; intervention approved
Islamist militants in Timbuktu destroyed more Sufi shrines days after the UN Security Council approved an intervention force to retake Mali’s breakaway north.
Palestine
General strike on West Bank
Palestinian Authority employees, who held a general strike last week, will shut down the West Bank again this week to protest non-payment of their salaries due to Israeli sanctions.
Mexico
Chiapas: Abejas mark 1997 Acteal massacre
Followers of the indigenous pacifist group Las Abejas held a ceremony at the hamlet of Acteal in the Chiapas Highlands to remember the 1997 massacre there and demand justice.
Zapatistas march on San Cristóbal de Las Casas
Thousands of Maya followers of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) marched, masked but unarmed, on the towns of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Ocosingo, Las Margaritas, Palenque, Altamirano, in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas, marking the turning of the Maya calendar Dec. 21…. Read moreZapatistas march on San Cristóbal de Las Casas
Mexico
Chiapas: Zapatistas mark Maya calendar change
Thousands of Maya followers of the Zapatista rebel movement marched, masked but unarmed, on towns in Mexico's Chiapas state, marking the turning of the Maya calendar.
Mexico
Mexico: prison seized by army after uprising
A prison in northern Mexico’s Durango has been siezed by the military after an armed uprising by inmates left nine guards and 14 prisoners dead.
The Andes
Ecuador: urban guerilla suspects freed
Ten men arrested on “terrorism” and “subversion” charges in Quito were freed after a prison hunger strike. Three women in the group remain behind bars, refusing food.
The Andes
Ecuador: pipeline protests in Guayaquil
Residents and officials in Ecuador’s port Guayaquil are protesting a planned gas pipeline that would run through densely populated areas, charging inadequate safety studies.