The Caribbean
Haiti: homeless camp destroyed before summit
Three years after the earthquake thousands of displaced people still live in tent cities–and landowners and the government continue to evict and harass them.
Author: Weekly News Update on the Americas
The Caribbean
Puerto Rico: thousands protest airport privatization
Puerto Ricans marched on San Juan’s Luis Muñoz MarĂn International Airport to protest plans to privatize the facility through a 40-year lease to an international consortium.
Southern Cone
Chile: Pinochet was planning new coup in 1988
Declassified US documents show that Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was planning to carry out another coup if he lost a 1988 plebiscite on his military regime.
Central America
Honduras: US-trained unit named in Aguán abuses
A new report finds that soldiers from Honduras' US-trained 15th Battalion are directly implicated in "kidnappings, killings, threats, torture and abuse of authority."
Mexico
Mexico: Juárez rights activist seeks asylum in US
An activist whose teenaged daughter disappeared in 2008 has applied for political asylum in the US after being harassed by the authorities in Ciudad Juárez.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: protesters demand review of Barrick contract
Protesters demonstrated against the Dominican government’s deals with a Canadian mining multinational, and with developers claiming titles to properties in an ecological reserve.
The Caribbean
Haiti: Duvalier and UN blow off victims’ claims —again
In just one day Jean-Claude Duvalier defied an order to appear in court for human rights abuses and the UN refused to accept responsibility for the cholera epidemic it started.
Southern Cone
Chile: 20 arrested at Mapuche prisoner’s hearing
Some 20 Mapuche protesters, including women and children, were assaulted and arrested as they demonstrated outside a hearing for a prisoner on hunger strike.
Central America
Honduras: brother of slain Aguán attorney killed
The brother of murdered campesino lawyer Antonio Trejo Cabrera was himself gunned down in the latest violent episode in the Aguán Valley’s ongoing land dispute.
Mexico
Mexico: Finnish maquila signs with company union
The Finnish-based auto parts multinational PKC Group fired independent unionists and signed a contract with a protection union at three assembly plants near the Texas border.
The Caribbean
Haiti: unionist is beaten up at Gildan supplier
An assembly plant worker was assaulted and fired when he demanded that he be paid the legal minimum wage; activists ask for calls to Gildan, which buys from the plant.
Central America
Honduras: Aguán campesino leader arrested
The president of a campesino organization claiming disputed lands is arrested, while the landowners and their security guards enjoy impunity amid ongoing violence.