The Andes
Colombia: campesino strike in oil zone
The feared riot squad of the Colombian National Police has been mobilized to Arauca to break up peasant blockades of roads leading to Occidental Petroleum’s oilfields.
Vigilante justice in Mexico
With law and order stretched thin in Mexico, citizen posses have stepped up, rounding up accused drug dealers and other criminals. Frequently armed with household rifles and shotguns, the civilian police militia of Ayutla, Guerrero, is trying to maintain the peace… Read moreVigilante justice in Mexico
The Amazon
‘Lost tribe’ confirmed in Colombian Amazon
Details are revealed of an anthropologist’s overflight that confirmed the existence of “uncontaced” indigenous groups in a remote area of Colombia’s Amazon basin.
The Andes
Colombia: tribunal rules for Peace Community
A Colombian court ordered the army to hold a public ceremony officially apologizing for the massacre at San José de Apartadó Peace Community, eight years after it was carried out.
The Andes
Ecuador left opposition reacts to Correa re-election
Ecuador’s indigenous movement reacted to the re-election of President Rafael Correa by calling upon him to end the extractive model and criminalization of protest.
The Andes
Peru: mining company rejects Conga referendum
The Yanacocha mining company issued a statement warning that a consulta by local villagers on the Conga project could “place in danger all the mineral industry” of Peru.
The Andes
Bolivia: growing Aymara dissension on Altiplano
Four suyus (traditional Aymara territories) in Bolivia’s Oruro department brought suit demanding that authorities officially recognize the Aymara system of justice.
The Andes
Bolivia showdown with Chile over border incident
Some 2,000 Bolivians marched on the Chilean consulate to demand the liberation of three Bolivian soliders detained after crossing the border into the neighboring country.
North Africa
Playing the ‘slavery card’ against Tuaregs
Specious charges that the Tuareg still practice slavery are being used by Mali’s regime—and echoed by the Western media—to justify the mounting wave of ethnic attacks.
North Africa
US Marines to Morocco for ‘African Lion’ exercise
Amid a growing Pentagon footprint in the Maghreb, 1,400 US Marines will join Moroccan troops on the North African coast for a joint training exercise dubbed “African Lion.”
North Africa
Tunisia: new protest amid political crisis
More than 3,000 Tunisians, led by the father of assassinated opposition figure Chokri Belaid, marched through the capital in a protest against the government’s “slow” investigation.
North Africa
France faces Mali insurgency; US troops to Niger
Some 100 US troops have been mobilized to Niger to establish a drone base, while across the border in northern Mali French-led forces face growing jihadist resistance.