US equals Colombia in cannabis production

US production of marijuana now equals that of Colombia, according to the annual report of the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Bogotá claims FARC link to Ecuador’s Correa

A videotape that appears to link Colombia’s FARC guerillas to President Rafael Correa of Ecuador was broadcast on Colombian TV. Correa rejected the claims as “idiocies” and “barbarities.”

Venezuela: ex-defense minister charged in Caracazo

Venezuela’s former defense minister Italo del Valle Alliegro faces charges over his role in violent repression of the protests in Caracas in 1989, an affair today known as the “Caracazo.”

Colombia nears deal with Washington for military base

Colombia says it is close to sealing an agreement with Washington which would make the country the hub for US anti-drug operations in South America—despite protests that the move is unconstitutional.

Colombia extradites Betancourt captor

FARC guerrilla Gerardo Antonio Aguilar AKA “César” was extradited to the US to face drug charges. “César” guarded hostages including Ingrid Betancourt before his arrest in July 2008.

Peru: Fujimori admits bribery —but not “criminal responsibility”

Peru’s former president Alberto Fujimori admitted at his corruption trial that he paid his spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos $15 million in public funds to quit—but denied “criminal responsibility.”

Colombia: Katío Embera leader killed

Gunmen shot Colombian indigenous leader Héctor Betancur Domicó in the northwestern department of Córdoba. More than 1,254 indigenous people have been killed by armed groups in Colombia since 2002.

Ex-Bolivian “Minister of Cocaine” deported to face genocide charge

Former Bolivian "Minister of Cociane" Luis Arce Gómez was deported from the US to La Paz, where he faces 30 years on charges of human rights violations and genocide.

Colombian bounty-hunters bring down Pablo Escobar’s escaped hippopotamus

Colombian bounty hunters shot and killed one of three hippopotami which escaped from a private zoo owned by the late Medellín Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar. Animal rights groups protested.

Peruvian provinces paralyzed by paro

Peru’s government ordered thousands of soldiers into the streets as a paro or series of coordinated strikes against the free-trade policies of President Alan García entered its second day.

Peru: strikes, protests and “cold war”

Peru’s President Alan García says his country has become a pawn in a continental “cold war,” alleging Venezuelan and Bolivian involvement in a wave of strikes and protests.

Colombia: ex-para warlord names top generals as collaborators

Salvatore Mancuso, ex-commander of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), presented prosecutors with the names of 31 high-ranking military and police officers who collaborated in massacres.