Guatemalan authorities arrested three top anti-narcotics officials on corruption charges, as other leading officials went public with the existence of resurgent death squads.
The Latin America and Caribbean Unity Summit in Cancún ended with an agreement to form a provisionally named “Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.”
A Mexican judge upheld a 21-year prison term for two indigenous women charged with “kidnapping” six federal agents. Amnesty International says the women were “framed.”
Thousands of Guatemalan public school teachers blocked roads and occupied the capital’s central plaza to press their demands for a 16% pay raise.
Following an “extraordinary assembly,” the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) called for an “uprising” to press demands for a “pluri-national state.”
A Spanish judge accused the Venezuelan government of aiding two rebel groups—Spain’s ETA and Colombia’s FARC—in a plot to assassinate Colombia’s president in Spain.
The China-Peru FTA took effect, calling for phasing out tariffs on 90% of goods exchanged between the two nations. Peruvian minerals are critical to the pact.
The new Honduran government brought fresh corruption charges against the exiled Manuel Zelaya, but also removed the military chief who ousted him in last year’s coup d’etat.
President Michelle Bachelet has declared a “state of catastrophe” in Concepción in the wake of the devastating earthquake, placing the zone under control of the armed forces.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad urged an escalation of protests in response to the new violence at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa compound, where Palestinian youth clashed with Israeli police.
The House of Representatives approved an extension of the USA Patriot Act with no new privacy measures—a move protested by the ACLU and other civil rights groups.
Three months ago we noted widespread rumors that Israel was preparing imminent air-strikes on Iran—particularly predicted for around the New Year—and asked our readers in an Exit Poll: “Will Israel attack Iran within the next three months?” We received 99… Read moreOur readers write: Will Israel attack Iran?
