Vice President Joe Biden, reversing his recent position, said the US could stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014—as Hamid Karzai signed a long-term pact with NATO in Lisbon.
Neo-Nazis have taken over the entire village of Jamel in northeastern Germany, and are running it as a “nationally liberated zone”—with no interference from authorities.
Peasants blocked roads to protest mining plans in Peru’s central Andean region of Ancash, as presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo pledged a tougher hand on the mineral sector.
Members of the Council of Ejidos and Communities Opposed to La Parota Dam (CECOP) erected a blockade to prevent access of the Federal Electrical Commission to the dam construction site.
2010 saw 15,273 drug-related deaths in Mexico—another record year since President Felipe CalderĂłn launched his offensive against the country’s narco-gangs in 2006.
Mexican authorities announced the detainment of David Romo GuillĂ©n, leader of the “Santa Muerte” cult, on charges of leading a kidnapping gang that impersonated gunmen from Los Zetas.
Through their civilian wing, Mexico’s Zapatista rebels issued a denial of fraudulent statements claiming credit in their name for the kidnapping of politician Diego Fernández de Cevallos.
Guatemala has declared a state of emergency along the jungle border with Mexico in response to threats from Los Zetas. The narco gang responded by declaring “war” on the Guatemalan state.
Colombian authorities brought charges against a Maj. Juan Carlos Del RĂo Crespo and four other troops in the slaying of a campesino family in another “false positives” case.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez dismissed charges that he is moving towards dictatorship with his special powers to rule by decree, accusing OAS head JosĂ© Miguel Insulza of serving the “empire.”
Spanish prosecutors charge that an ETA operative in the Venezuelan government arranged for the Basque separatist group to provide computer training for Colombian FARC guerillas.
Protesters in the southern Chile region of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena have erected road blockades, halting traffic in response to a government hike in fuel prices.
