Southern Cone
Paraguay: imprisoned campesinos on hunger strike
Five Paraguayan campesinos arrested during a violent squatter eviction in 2012 and held since then without trial are six weeks into a hunger strike.
Southern Cone
Paraguay: indigenous Aché people charge genocide
The Aché indigenous people of Paraguay brought suit in an Argentine court demanding reparations for "genocide" carried out under the late Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner.
Mexico
Mexico: gas pipeline opponents arrested
Popular organizations in south-central Mexico announced protests to demand the liberation of three campesinos detained in connection with opposition to a new gas pipeline.
Mexico
Michoacán: ‘community police’ out of control —already?
"Community police" forces in Michoacán launched a blockade of a Mexican naval base after marines attempted to disarm their gunmen.
Southern Cone
Brazil: Kennedy backed plan for 1964 coup
As Brazilians mark the 50th anniversary of a military coup, US documents show that plans for the action had the strong support of the liberal Kennedy administration.
The Caribbean
USAID’s ‘Cuban Twitter’ scheme flops
Under the guise of promoting social media in Cuba, the US government developed a Twitter knockoff to promote "smart mobs" and collect information on Cubans.
Mexico
Mexico: four die in Chiapas land dispute
Twenty years after the uprising by the indigenous Zapatistas, land issues continue to produce violence in the Chiapas highlands–sometimes with outside encouragement.
Central America
Honduras: three convicted in reporter’s murder
A Honduran court has convicted three men in the murder of a well-known journalist, but impunity is still the rule for most killings of reporters and activists.
Europe
Ukraine: pro-Russian uprisings in east
Protesters seized government buildings in Ukraine's east, declaring the Donbas region to be a "people's republic" and calling for a referendum on union with Russia.
Europe
Baltics militarized by NATO amid Russian threats
Above Russian protests, NATO is beefing up its Baltic Air Policing program with more fighter jets—at the request of regional leaders, who cite Russian provocation.
Watching the Shadows
Judge dismisses Yemen drone strike lawsuit
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against Obama administration officials for the 2011 drone strikes that killed three US citizens in Yemen.
The Andes
Colombia: gains against Buenaventura butchers?
Speaking in the Pacific port of Buenaventura, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos boasted gains against paramilitary gangs that have been terrorizing the city.