Peru: farmers strike over water

Campesinos in Peru blocked roads to protest provisions of the new free trade agreement with the US which would promote privatization of water resources.

Bolivia turns to Brazil for drug war aid

Brazil agreed to provide helicopters and other assistance to Bolivia to combat drug trafficking, taking up slack following the ouster of the US DEA from the Andean country last year.

Colombia: Piedad Córdoba to negotiate FARC hostage release

On Jan. 7, the Colombian government authorized Senator Piedad Córdoba to participate in the release of six hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The mission will be headed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)…. Read moreColombia: Piedad Córdoba to negotiate FARC hostage release

Colombia: CIA knew of army-para ties

On Jan. 8 the National Security Archive, a Washington, DC-based research group, released declassified US government documents showing that US diplomats and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) knew at least since 1994 that the Colombia security forces “employ death… Read moreColombia: CIA knew of army-para ties

Colombian drug lord shot dead in Spanish hospital

Leonidas Vargas, one of Colombia’s most notorious drug lords, was shot dead in his Madrid hospital bed Jan. 8, Spanish authorities said. At least one gunman entered the room in Madrid’s Doce de Octubre Hospital where Vargas was being treated… Read moreColombian drug lord shot dead in Spanish hospital

Inter-American court finds Colombia guilty in assassination

Ten years after the fact, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH) found the Colombian government guilty of the assassination of Jesús Maria Valle Jaramillo, an attorney and human rights defender of Medellín, in the northwestern department of Antioquia. The… Read moreInter-American court finds Colombia guilty in assassination

FARC to release hostages?

The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced in a Dec. 21 letter to the Colombians for Peace organization that it is planning to release six hostages unilaterally in the near future: three police agents, one soldier, former Meta… Read moreFARC to release hostages?

Colombia: government spies on peaceniks

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), a US-based interfaith peace organization with an affiliate in Colombia, is charging that Colombian government agencies have intercepted more than 150 e-mail accounts of nonviolent groups like the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the United Nations… Read moreColombia: government spies on peaceniks

Bolivia completes literacy campaign

On Dec. 20 the government of Bolivian president Evo Morales announced that a three-year literacy campaign had concluded successfully, making Bolivia the third Latin American country to end illiteracy, after Cuba (1961) and Venezuela (2005). The government said the campaign… Read moreBolivia completes literacy campaign

Peru: coca economy destroys rainforest

Nearly two million hectares of forest in Peru have been destroyed in order to grow coca, the country’s Environment Minister Antonio Brack said in a Lima Dec. 28. “The traffickers invaded protected areas and cleared forests for land to grow… Read morePeru: coca economy destroys rainforest

Bolivia: plot to assassinate Evo Morales?

“Extreme right” opposition elements planned to assassinate Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, the government claims. News of the plot was revealed Dec. 23 by Government Minister Alfredo Rada, who said the assassination was due to be carried out at… Read moreBolivia: plot to assassinate Evo Morales?

Colombia claims hit against Sinaloa Cartel

Colombian authorities announced Dec. 19 the dismantling of a narco network linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, with seven arrested by the elite Technical Investigation Group (CTI) in the cities of Calí, Palmira and Bogotá. Vehicles, “communications equipment” and four weapons… Read moreColombia claims hit against Sinaloa Cartel