The Andes
Colombia: FARC disarmament process begins
Under UN oversight, the FARC guerillas began the process of turning over their weapons at the 26 "transitional camps" established for the purpose around the country.
Tag: The Andes
The Andes
Trump sanctions Venezuela veep as ‘kingpin’
The Trump administration seriously turned up the heat on Venezuela, slapping sanctions on the country's vice president Tareck Zaidan El Aissami as a drug "kingpin."
The Andes
Ecuador: indigenous split on presidential race
Ecuador's once-powerful but increasingly fractured indigenous movement is divided on which candidate to support as the presidential race heads to a second round.
The Andes
Colombia: courts uphold local power over mining
Colombia's Constitutional Court upheld the power of municipalities to block mining operations on their lands, clearing the way for local referenda throughout the country.
The Andes
FARC ‘demobilization’ —despite para terror
The FARC completed its "demobilization" to transition camps under protest, charging that the Colombian government is failing to restrain right-wing paramilitary groups.
The Andes
Peru denied legal costs in FTA pollution case
An arbitration body ruled for Peru in a case brought by a US mineral interest under terms of the Free Trade Agreement, but is denying Lima recovery of legal costs.
The Andes
Mass prisoner pardon in Bolivia
President Evo Morales on Christmas Eve pardoned and released 1,800 prisoners—part of his ongoing effort to curtail dangerous overcrowding in Bolivia's penal system.
The Andes
FARC narco-factions refuse to lay down arms
FARC leaders admit that five regional commanders—those most co-opted by the narco trade—are refusing to lay down arms, and have been expelled from the movement.
The Andes
Ecuador: ecology group ordered closed
Ecuador's government ordered Quito-based activist group Acción Ecológica closed amid a wave of repression against indigenous anti-mining protesters in the Amazon.
The Andes
Colombia: denialism on slayings of social leaders
Amid concern that Colombia's peace process could be jeopardized by ongoing assassinations of social leaders, the Defense Ministry said the slayings are "not systematic."
The Andes
Colombia: new attacks threaten talks with ELN
Colombian authorities are blaming ELN guerillas in a wave of attacks on security forces around the country, again jeopardizing the planned opening of peace talks.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC amnesty law approved
Colombia's Congress approved an amnesty law as part of the peace process, protecting guerilla fighters from prosecution over most crimes related to the conflict.