Bolivia bashes Obama over trade sanctions

President Evo Morales lashed out at President Obama a day after the US ended trade benefits, saying Bolivia is not doing enough to combat coca cultivation of coca.

Obama pledges progress on FTA in meeting with Uribe

Barack Obama held his first meeting with his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, pledging to move ahead with a Free Trade Agreement—in spite of expressed concerns about ongoing rights violations.

UN: coca cultivation declines in Colombia, balloons in Bolivia, Peru

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime finds that coca cultivation declined 18% in Colombia last year, while it expanded 6% in Bolivia and 4.5% in Peru.

Italian mafia “foreign minister” busted in Venezuela

Salvatore Miceli, dubbed the “Mafia’s foreign minister,” will be deported to Italy after his capture in Caracas June 21 in a joint operation by Venezuelan and Italian police.

UN report: Colombian army “killed civilians”

In a new report, a UN investigator accuses the Colombian military of killing hundreds of civilians during the past six years and falsely identifying the dead as guerilla fighters.

Colombia’s high court denies extradition of FARC “jailer”

Colombia’s Supreme Court will not allow captured FARC operative Heli Mejia Mendoza AKA “Martin Sombra”—known as the guerilla army’s “jailer”—to be extradited to the United States.

National Intelligence office sees Islamic extremism in Bolivia

Fox News warns in a headline, “Bolivia Becoming a Hotbed of Islamic Extremism, Report Concludes”—citing the findings of a recent study by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Colombia biofuel production linked to human rights violations

Human rights groups denounced the cultivation of biofuel crops in Colombia, charging their production is linked to land theft and atrocities by paramilitary groups.

Colombia: ex-senator sentenced in Uribe bribery scheme

Former Colombian Senator Teodolindo Avendaño was sentenced to eight years house arrest for not voting on the measure that allowed the 2006 re-election of President Alvaro Uribe in exchange for favors.

Colombian para operative sentenced in Texas

Colombian paramilitary operative Diego Alberto Ruíz was sentenced in Houston, TX, for trying to acquire anti-aircraft missiles and other powerful weapons for $25 million worth of cocaine.

Colombia: lawsuit accuses Dole of funding paramilitaries

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Dole Food Co. on behalf of 73 people, survivors of murdered trade unionists and farmers in the banana-growing region of north Colombia.

Colombia: banana workers end strike in violence-torn Urabá

Some 17,500 banana workers in Colombia ended a strike they began on May 8, winning raises in pay and benefits, but not a fund to compensate victims of company-sponsored paramilitary activity.