The jury in the US military commission trial of alleged al-Qaeda media director Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul reached a verdict in the case Nov. 1, finding him guilty of material support for terrorism. The verdict was sealed until… Read moreUS military tribunal reaches verdict on accused al-Qaeda media director
Gen. Mario Montoya, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, resigned Nov. 4 after an investigation tied dozens of military personnel under his command to a growing scandal over the killing of civilians by the military in an apparent attempt to inflate… Read moreColombia: armed forces chief resigns in human rights scandal
On the night of Nov. 4, a Learjet carrying Government Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño and José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a former deputy prosecutor general, crashed in the middle of rush-hour traffic in an upscale neighborhood of Mexico City, killing all… Read moreMexico: interior secretary killed in (mysterious?) air crash
Media in South Texas are citing a leaked FBI intelligence report that apparently warns that the Zetas, paramilitary arm of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, are planning attacks on US Border Patrol agents in retaliation against stepped-up interdiction efforts. Law enforcement agencies… Read moreMexico: Zetas planning attacks on US Border Patrol?
Anwar Tambe writes from Kenya for SkyNews, Nov. 5: It is scarcely believable, but it is true. A Luo can become President—of the United States of America, if not Kenya. I must admit I had a lump in my throat… Read moreObama wins: Kenya believe it?
The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in Colombia’s northwestern Antioquia department reported on Oct. 31 that right-wing paramilitaries were threatening to murder community members. A joint operation of paramilitaries and the army’s 17th Brigade murdered eight people in… Read moreColombia: paras threaten Peace Community
The official theme of the 18th Ibero-American Summit, held Oct. 29-31 in San Salvador, El Salvador, was “Youth and Development,” but the global financial crisis was the main topic of discussions by the representatives of Spain, Portugal and 19 Latin… Read moreLatin America: leaders united on crisis?
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Oct. 29 to condemn the US embargo on trade with Cuba that has been in effect since 1962. This is 17th time the group has supported a nonbinding resolution against the embargo. The… Read moreUN votes against Cuba embargo; Havana woos Latin America
On Oct. 28 former Haitian right-wing paramilitary leader Emmanuel (“Toto”) Constant was given a 12 to 37 year prison sentence for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme in New York state. Justice Abraham Gerges of State Supreme Court in… Read moreHaitian death squad boss Toto Constant sentenced —on mortgage fraud
About a dozen people reportedly died of starvation in the Baie d’Orange communal section in Belle-Anse in Haiti’s Southeast department towards the end of October. Local authorities say malnutrition is a major problem in the area, which was hit by… Read moreHaiti: storm victims starve
Hundreds of high school and college students from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area skipped class on Halloween morning, Oct. 31, to participate in a youth-led “Stop the Raids” protest against immigration enforcement in downtown San Francisco. Transit officials shut… Read moreSan Francisco: youth march against ICE raids
Mexican federal police Nov. 1 announced the arrest of the leader of the Gulf Cartel for the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, TX. The police statement said Antonio Galarza AKA “El Amarillo” was apprehended in a car stop… Read moreMexico: Gulf Cartel kingpin busted, narco-terror continues
