Ecuador sent the army into jungles along the Colombian border to crack down on illegal small-scale mining operations—as the government moved ahead with new mining contracts with industry majors.
WikiLeaks is releasing 1,918 previously unpublished diplomatic cables concerning Haiti to the weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté—the first revealing the details of US pressure to keep Haiti out of the Venezuela-led PetroCaribe program.
The Guatemalan government is planning not to honor a year-old order from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR, or CIDH in Spanish) to suspend operations at the Marlin gold mine in the western department of San Marcos, according to… Read moreGuatemala: government said to OK Goldcorp mine
The government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner finally agreed to negotiate seriously with Qom (Toba) protesters after 16 community members started an open-ended hunger strike in Buenos Aires.
Mexican soldiers raided the home of casino magnate and centrist politician Jorge Hank Rhon and claimed to find a large arsenal, possibly intended for the drug cartels.
Peruvian voters elected the fiery populist Ollanta Humala to the presidency, dealing a defeat to neoliberal candidate Keiko Fujimori—and precipitating a plunge in the Lima stock market.
Thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv in support of a return to the 1967 borders—as the IDF fired on protesters attempting to cross the Golan Heights ceasefire line from Syria, leaving several dead.
A federal court in Florida issued a ruling in the case in re Chiquita Brands, allowing lawsuits brought by some 4,000 Colombians seeking compensation for violence by armed groups the company backed to move ahead.
Two undocumented migrants being held at a jail in the border town of Tapachula in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state were hospitalized after 21 days on hunger strike—despite a new law that supposedly protects migrants’ rights.
Talks on a Mexico-Central America free trade zone wrapped up as long-standing regional political disputes were officially resolved. But increased integration comes with stepped-up “anti-crime” military efforts.
Hugo Chávez and the US State Department alike denied claims touted by neocon think-tanks that Iran is establishing missile bases in Venezuela. But the State Department sanctioned Venezuela’s state oil company for aiding Iran’s energy sector.
Refugees fleeing the violence in North Africa continue to die at sea, prompting an investigation by the Council of Europe—and a move by Italy and France to rewrite the EU’s policy that permits internal passport-free travel.
