CounterVortex

North Africa

IraqStrike2

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons is calling on the government of Libya to protect hundreds of former residents of the town of Tawergha who are currently stranded in the desert. According to the UN, approximately 40,000 Tawarghans were forcefully evacuated in 2011 due to their perceived support for the country's former dictator Moammar Qaddafi, and their return has since been blocked by armed militia groups acting with the consent of the Libyan government. Although the Tawarghans are Libyan nationals, they appear to be suspected of supporting Qaddafi simply because many are of Black African ethnicity. As his army collapsed in 2011, Qaddafi brought in many Black African mercenaries in a last-ditch bid to hold onto power. (Photo: Mustafa Fetouri via The National, UAE)

Central America

Honduras joins Petrocaribe

Honduras officially joined Petrocaribe on Dec. 21 during the group’s Fourth Summit, held in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The 16-member Petrocaribe is a mechanism for providing Venezuelan oil to other Caribbean countries at full price but on easy terms which include payment… Read moreHonduras joins Petrocaribe

The Amazon

Ecuador: Correa puts down oil protests

Leftist Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa declared a state of exception (which suspends some legal norms) in the southeastern village of Dayuma on Nov. 29 following protests there. Dayuma’s 2,800 residents live in poverty despite petroleum extraction operations in the area… Read moreEcuador: Correa puts down oil protests

Southern Cone

Argentina: seven ex-officers arrested

On Dec. 18 Argentine judge Ariel Lijo gave seven former military officers and one former police agent prison sentences of 20-25 years in connection with the disappearance of some 20 members of the rebel Montonero organization in 1980. This was… Read moreArgentina: seven ex-officers arrested

Southern Cone

Uruguay: ex-dictator arrested

The 82-year-old Gregorio Alvarez, former Uruguayan army commander and president (1981-1985) of the military junta that ruled the country after a 1973 coup, was imprisoned on Dec. 17 in Montevideo after Judge Luis Charles ordered his arrest for participation in… Read moreUruguay: ex-dictator arrested

The Andes

Peru trade pact enacted; Uruguay holds out

On Dec. 14 US president George W. Bush signed legislation approving the Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA, or TLC for its initials in Spanish), which will eventually eliminate tariffs between the two countries. The signing took place at a ceremony… Read morePeru trade pact enacted; Uruguay holds out

The Andes

Colombian democratic opposition rejects Plan Colombia

Colombia’s main opposition party, the Polo Democratico, has issued a strong statement against Plan Colombia. The communique is also a grim assessment of Alvaro Uribe’s Democratic Security policy, heavily influenced by Washington. The Polo cites the increase of human rights… Read moreColombian democratic opposition rejects Plan Colombia

The Andes

Colombia’s Uribe linked to 1984 assassination of justice minister

Rodrigo Lara Restrepo, chief of the Colombian presidency’s anti-corruption program, resigned Dec. 12—days after Miami’s El Nuevo Herald reported documents showing his father, Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, had warned before his 1984 assassination that relatives of current President Alvaro… Read moreColombia’s Uribe linked to 1984 assassination of justice minister

The Andes

OAS Peace Mission official threatened in Colombia

On Dec. 13, an observer who works for an international body set up to monitor Colombia’s demobilization process received a death threat while visiting a poor neighborhood in Medellín. Since 2004, the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP), under… Read moreOAS Peace Mission official threatened in Colombia

The Amazon

Iraq Strike

Peru's creation of Yaguas National Park—covering nearly 870,000 hectares of rainforest along the remote border with Colombia—is being hailed as a critical advance for protection of global biodiversity. The territory in the Putumayo river basin is roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park, but with more than 10 times the diversity of flora and fauna. Despite new areas brought under protection, forest is still being rapidly lost in Peru. A recent analysis of satellite images by th Andean Amazon Monitoring Project (MAAP) found 143,425 hectares of forest were lost across the Peruvian Amazon during 2017. (Image: Inhabit.com)

The Andes

Bolivia’s constitutional crisis: rival “decentralizations”

Bolivia’s new constitution, which is being attacked by the lowland oligarchs as centralizing too much power in the hands of President Evo Morales, actually devolves many powers to “indigenous nations and peoples,” recognizing their right to “free determination and territoriality.”… Read moreBolivia’s constitutional crisis: rival “decentralizations”

Mexico

Survivors accuse Mexican state at Acteal massacre commemoration

Survivors and their supporters gathered in the mountain hamlet of Acteal in southern Mexico’s conflicted Chiapas state Dec. 22 to mark the tenth anniversary of the massacre of 45 unarmed Tzotzil Maya peasants by a paramilitary group linked to the… Read moreSurvivors accuse Mexican state at Acteal massacre commemoration