Unions and social organizations held a commemoration Dec. 6 at CiĂ©naga, in the Colombian Caribbean coast department of Magdalena, marking the anniversary of the 1928 “Masacre de las Bananeras,” carried out by the army against hundreds of striking workers of… Read moreColombia: survivors remember “Bananera Massacre”
On Dec. 2 Venezuelan interior and justice minister Tarek El Aissami announced the arrest of Julio Cesar Agrinzones (also given as “Arguinzones”) Romero the night before on charges of killing three leftist Venezuelan unionists—Richard Gallardo, Carlos Requena and Luis Hernández—the… Read moreVenezuela: who killed Aragua unionists?
Efforts by the US to fight its own financial crisis may cut Latin American governments off from access to credit at a time when they need an estimated $250 billion for financing their 2009 budgets. The US has been issuing… Read moreLatin America: US deficit squeezes credit
Thousands of Colombians took to the streets July 6 to protest the mounting wave of assassinations of social leaders in the country. The protests and vigils were largely ignored by the country’s political leaders, who have come under international pressure for their failure to respond to the wholesale killing that has claimed the lives of 311 community leaders since 2016. Days after the mobilization, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights issued yet another call for the Colombian government to take urgent measures to call a halt to the ongoing attacks. Opposition leaders charge that the assassinations are a "systematic" campaign, and that authorities must break up resurgent paramilitary networks rather than just arresting individual sicarios (assassins). (Photo via Contagio Radio)
The day after thousands of Peruvians filled the streets of Lima in a March Against Corruption, Duberli Rodriguez stepped down from his posts as head of the country's justice department, Poder Judicial, and president of the Supreme Court. Orlando Velasquez, president of the National Council of the Magistrature, also resigned. The justice minister, Salvador Heresi, had already been sacked by President Martín Vizcarra days earlier, amid a widening scandal concerning the perverting of the court system. The outrage was sparked when national media outlets aired a series of telephone recordings involving an extensive network of judges, businessmen and local authorities describing illegal deals. (Photo: Diario Uno)
Colombia recalled its top diplomat in Venezuela’s second largest city last week after President Hugo Chávez threatened to expel the official for allegedly expressing support for his political opponents. Chávez criticized Colombia’s consul in Maracaibo, Carlos Galvis, for privately welcoming… Read moreColombian consul recalled from Venezuela’s restive Zulia state
Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt met with Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa in Quito Dec. 3 on her tour of South American capitals to line up leaders’ support for her campaign to free those still being held by the Colombian guerillas…. Read moreEcuador backs Betancourt mission to free FARC hostages
A worldwide slump in zinc prices threatens Bolivia’ss second-largest export as companies reduce output and close mines, officials said. “We’re worried about zinc not only because of falling prices but because it’s the principal mineral that we mine in Bolivia,”… Read moreZinc slump threatens Bolivian mining sector
Bolivian opposition leaders Dec. 4 accused an international commission of bias toward President Evo Morales in its report on a September jungle “massacre.” The new report by the Union of South American Nations names 19 people confirmed killed in the… Read moreBolivian opposition blasts report on Pando massacre
BPZ Resources of Houston received a permit from Lima’s Energy Ministry to build a gas plant in northern Peru near the border with Ecuador this week. The plant, to be supplied by BPZ’s offshore Bloc Z-1 field, will fuel a… Read moreTexan firm wins deal for Peru gas plant
Peru’s President Alan GarcĂa declared that his nation’s long dispute with Chile was over Dec. 5 after removing his army chief Gen. Edwin Donayre, who caused outrage with an anti-Chilean tirade that surfaced on YouTube. In the video, Donayre told… Read morePeru removes army chief, ends 125-year dispute with Chile?
Three leftist Venezuelan unionists were shot dead the night of Nov. 27 in the city of Cagua, southwest of Caracas in Aragua state, just days after two of them ran unsuccessfully in Nov. 23 state and municipal elections. In what… Read moreVenezuela: three unionists murdered
