Mexico
Mexican peace caravan ‘disarms Houston’
Relatives of victims of drug-related violence in Mexico protested lax US gun control laws by destroying two US-purchased firearms in a public park in Houston.
Author: Weekly News Update on the Americas
Mexico
Mexico: PRI candidate declared winner, students protest
Students held a “funeral for democracy” in reponse to the official designation of Enrique Peña Nieto, from the once-entrenched PRI machine, as Mexico’s next president.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: denied an abortion, teen cancer patient dies
The death of a pregnant 16-year-old with leukemia has reignited controversy over the 2010 Constitution’s Article 37, which bans all abortions, even when the mother’s life is in danger.
Central America
Honduras: five killed in continuing Aguán violence
Five people died violently in the Aguán region in less than a week; at least two of the deaths appeared related to campesino struggles for land now held by big landowners.
Southern Cone
Chile: Mapuche prisoners start latest hunger strike
Seven Mapuche activists went on hunger strike to protest what they consider the Chilean government’s repression of struggles by the indigenous group to regain ancestral lands.
The Andes
Colombia: paramilitaries issue death threats in Barrancabermeja
A reconstituted paramilitary group is threatening to execute a union leader and members of human rights organizations in Colombia’s river port of Barrancabermeja.
The Andes
Colombia: GM and hunger strikers agree to mediation
Former employees of GM’s subsidiary in Colombia agreed to end a three-week hunger strike and enter into mediation to resolve a dispute with the company.
Central America
Honduras: Aguán campesinos arrested in Supreme Court protests
Some 45 campesinos from Honduras’ conflicted Aguán Valley were arrested in protests demanding the Supreme Court issue rulings in favor of campesino struggles for land.
Mexico
Mexico: police shoot up US embassy car
A group of Mexican federal police agents attacked a US embassy car. Mexican authorities attributed the incident to “confusion”: the US embassy called it an “ambush.”
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: stateless ‘Haitians’ arrested for demonstrating
Police agents used tear gas to stop a group of Dominican youths of Haitian descent from marching to demand that the government respect their rights as citizens.
Central America
Guatemala: military removes squatters in capital —twice
The military forced 100 impoverished families to move out of land in Guatemala City where they’d lived since January—and removed them again when they tried to settle nearby.
The Andes
Colombia: fired GM workers go on hunger strike
Former employees of General Motors' Colombian subsidiary are on hunger strike to demand reinstatement and compensation for injuries they say they received on the job.