Central America
Honduras: Aguán campesino convicted of murder
After a five-year campaign, supporters of a campesino activist won him a chance for retrial—but he was convicted again in the new trial.
Author: Weekly News Update on the Americas
Mexico
Mexico: US planned bailout before NAFTA vote
US officials and media insisted that Mexico's economy was sound as they pushed NAFTA in 1993; meanwhile, they were getting ready to bail out the peso.
The Caribbean
Haiti: human rights activist gunned down
Haitian authorities imply that the killing of rights campaigner Daniel Dorsinvil and his wife was a common crime, but activists are demanding an investigation.
Southern Cone
Brazil: fare protesters open turnstiles in Rio
Police and protesters battled in Rio de Janeiro's central train station, and commuters got a brief experience of a no-fare transit system—but with tear gas.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: new plan for ‘foreigners’
The Dominican government says it has an "ambitious and comprehensive plan" to "regularize" Dominicans of Haitian descent; human rights advocates may not agree.
The Caribbean
Puerto Rico: bonds are junked despite ‘reforms’
Puerto Rican officials followed Wall Street's instructions for austerity, and Wall Street rewarded them by reducing the island's bonds to junk status.
Southern Cone
Chile: farmer wins Monsanto seed case
"Don't eat things with transgenics; look for organics," a Chilean farmer advised consumers after winning a suit against Monsanto's Chilean seed distributor.
The Caribbean
Haiti: teachers strike as labor unrest grows
Haiti's government tries to prosecute a teachers' union leader for militant protests; meanwhile, the wage dispute in the garment sector remains unsettled.
Central America
Nicaragua: Assembly passes Constitution reform
Under Nicaragua's newly amended Constitution, three-time president Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front will be free to seek further terms.
Central America
Guatemala: Tahoe opens troubled silver mine
Tahoe's controversial silver mine in southeast Guatemala is now open for business, but local indigenous communities still want the company to get out.
Central America
Guatemala: maquila stole $6 million from workers
US retailers have been caught selling apparel from a plant whose union-busting owner cheated the workers of their pension and healthcare benefits.
Mexico
Mexico: police break up blockade of Goldcorp mine
Campesinos in Zacatecas state say a Canadian mining multinational "took advantage of their ignorance" when they agreed to rent out their land for a pittance.