The president of a failed Colombian financial firm suspected of laundering drug profits and bilking thousands of mostly poor investors of millions of dollars was arrested in Panama and promptly deported Nov. 20. David Murcia Guzmán, 28, founder of the… Read moreColombia: protests after arrest of populist outlaw banker
From the BBC News, Nov. 18: UK drug users ‘damaging Colombia’ Drug users in the UK are causing an environmental catastrophe in Colombia, the country’s vice-president has told a meeting of police chiefs. Speaking in Belfast, Francisco Santos Calderon said… Read moreColombia: coke users snort rainforest
Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, in Washington DC for an OAS meeting Nov. 19, drew parallels between himself and US President-elect Barack Obama: “Who would have believed 10 or 15 years ago that I could become president of Bolivia?… Read moreBolivia’s Evo Morales seeks “improved relations” with Obama White House
The New York Times reports Nov. 19 that “President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has signaled to Eric H. Holder Jr., a senior official in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, that he will be chosen as attorney general… Mr…. Read moreEric Holder: death-squad defender
Colombian officials declared a state of emergency Nov. 19, boosting their powers of arrest and money seizure to help deal with multimillion-dollar investment scams that have targeted mostly poor investors. President Álvaro Uribe’s office said the measure was taken because… Read moreColombia declares state of emergency over financial scams
On Nov. 12 Cuba released La Paz en Colombia (Peace in Colombia), a 265-page book by former president Fidel Castro giving new information about the Cuban government’s relations with Colombia’s leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In the book,… Read moreFidel spills frijoles on FARC
Between Nov. 13 and 14, more than 30 offices of bogus financial companies were attacked by protesters across Colombia in continuing unrest over pyramid scams. One town official was killed as protesters clashed with police in Buesaco, Nariño department. The… Read moreOne dead in Colombian riots over financial scam
Thousands of Colombians rioted around the country Nov. 12, demanding their money back after being defrauded in a series of pyramid schemes. In some of the nine cities where the protests erupted, police used batons and tear gas. In recent… Read moreColombian investors riot over pyramid scheme
Bolivian officials Nov. 11 formally requested that the US issue extradition orders for former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to face “genocide” charges for his repression of October 2003 protests over corporate exploitation of the country’s natural gas resources… Read moreBolivia requests extradition of ex-president from US on “genocide” charge
The US has halted aid to three Colombian army units after officers and soldiers were implicated in the killing of civilians, a senior US official told Reuters. “We have determined that three army units are no longer eligible to receive… Read moreUS blocks aid to tainted Colombian army units: report
From The Hill, Nov. 11: Newly designated White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that the incoming Obama administration opposes attaching the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to an economic stimulus package in order to get the approval of… Read moreEmanuel: Obama won’t link Colombia FTA to stimulus package
Venezuela plans to build five military bases along its border with Colombia, Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami announced Nov. 9 on a visit to the mountainous border zone, saying the bases will help President Hugo Chavez’s government fight drug smuggling,… Read moreVenezuela to militarize Colombian border
