A National Police helicopter searching for 40 hostages held by presumed Sendero Luminoso guerillas in a rainforest area of Peru’s Cuzco region was fired upon, killing a police captain on board, and wounding three others.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is hearing a case involving a “dirty war” atrocity in which President Ollanta Humala was implicated—sparking a frenzy of conspiracy theories among Peru’s political class.
Over the past 10 years, more than 40% of Colombia’s national territory has come under the control of multinational corporations for oil, mineral and biofuel production—part of what critics decry as a global land-grab.
In a surprise move, Bolivian President Evo Morales rescinded the contract of a Brazilian firm to build a controversial highway through the Amazon rainforest. But opponents of the project suspect a move to undermine their struggle.
Peru’s President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in La ConvenciĂłn province, following the abduction of workers from the Camisea Consortium by presumed guerillas of the Shining Path.
Nine miners were rescued after six days trapped in a tunnel at an “informal” copper mine in Peru. President Ollanta Humala said the incident points to the dangers of informal mines—but several such disasters have recently struck legal mines.
Ali Mushaima, a 28-year-old Bahraini activist, has been on hunger strike for 10 days outside the US embassy in London, to call attention to Washington’s complicity in the repression of Bahrain’s civil revolutionary movement.
Police in Tunis used tear gas and baton-charges against unemployed protestors demanding jobs and relief. President Moncef Marzouki decried the violence, but criticized the protesters for holding an unauthorized demonstration.
While Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) claim to control the north of Mali, a growing number of Islamist militant groups are also declaring power across much of the vast desert territory.
A Brazilian federal judge suspended the construction license of the Teles Pires hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforest, saying the permitting process violated the riights of the Kayabi, Apiaká and Mundurucu indigenous peoples.
Peru’s government is ignoring new UN guidelines on the protection of isolated indigenous peoples in the Amazon, Survival International charged last week. The landmark document was issued by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Presumed guerillas of the Shining Path seized a work camp of the Camisea Consortium in La Convención province, Cuzco region, holding captive the 30 workers there. Most were released, but seven remain hostage of the guerillas.
