The Andes
Venezuela: Yukpa killed in land confrontation
Venezuelan army troops intervened in a confrontation between indigenous Yukpa residents and local ranchers over disputed lands, leaving one community member dead.
Southern Cone
Chile: judge rejects prosecution of ex-general
A Chilean judge refused a request to prosecute former general Fernando Matthe, who oversaw the base where Gen. Alberto Bachelet was tortured to death in 1973.
South Asia
Uttarakhand disaster portends ‘Himalayan tsunamis’
The devastating floods in India's Uttarakhand state are being called a "Himalayan tsunami"—and a grim omen for millions living downstream from the world's highest range.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: US terror alert enflaming conflict?
The closing of the US embassy in Yemen has coinicided with drone strikes and clashes in Marib province, and a gun-battle between rival factions in the capital Sanaa.
Africa
Darfur: ethnic war exploding again
Efforts by pastoralist militias to bar refugees from returning to their lands in Darfur have sparked yet a new wave of fighting and displacement—with 250,000 uprooted this year.
Mexico
Mexico: Veracruz environmental activist murdered
Veracruz authorities implied that Noé Salomón Vázquez Ortiz was killed because of a personal dispute, not because of his activism against two local hydroelectric projects.
Central America
Costa Rica: eight arrested in turtle defender’s killing
Under international pressure, Costa Rican authorities arrested eight people in connection with the murder of an environmental activist two months earlier.
Central America
Honduras: attacks on human rights activists increase
An indigenous leader, an Afro-Honduran LGBT activist and a judge working for judicial reform were killed, and two foreign rights observers were abducted—all in less than two weeks.
The Andes
Colombia: US court throws out suit against Drummond
The Supreme Court’s April decision in the Kiobel case has already brought down another human rights suit, one charging Drummond with violations in Colombia.
Central America
Nicaragua: indigenous groups challenge canal plan
Nicaraguan civil society groups in the Caribbean region have challenged plans by a Hong Kong company to build an interoceanic canal through the Central American country.
The Andes
Peru: police ‘death squad’ leader absolved
A court in Trujillo, Peru, issued a ruling absolving former National Police colonel Elidio Espinoza, who was charged with running a secret "death squad" within the force.
Southern Cone
UN expert urges Chile to stop using anti-terror law
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism urged Chilean authorities to refrain from applying anti-terrorism laws against the Mapuche indigenous people.