The Andes

Colombia: top neo-para commander escapes

A former commander of Colombian neo-paramilitary group Los Paisas, implicated in massacres, escaped after armed men ambushed the van he was being transported in. 

The Andes

Peru: developers raze ancient pyramid

A demolition crew razed a pyrmaid at El Paraiso archaeological site in Lima—apparently contracted by developers who covet the lands for a new commerical center.
The Andes

Archaeologists race tomb-raiders in Peru

The archaeologists who unearthed a priceless pre-Inca burial chamber at Huarmey, Peru, were in a race with outlaw tomb-raiders who operate with impunity.

The Andes

Peru: peasant leader killed in Cajamarca

Carlos Vásquez Becerra, a campesino leader who opposed mining projects in Peru’s conflicted Cajamarca region, was found beaten to death in a canyon.

The Andes

Edward Snowden and Ecuador press freedom

Edward Snowden seeks refuge in Ecuador, just as the Andean country has passed a media law protested by the Committee to Protect Journalists as imposing arbitrary censorship. 

The Andes

Colombia: two dead in eradication protests

Following two weeks of escalating protests by local campesinos, two were killed as National Police troops opened fire at Ocaña in Colombia’s Norte de Santander department.

The Andes

Peru: student protests rock Cuzco

Riot police clashed with student protesters in Cuzco opposing a proposed education law they call a step towards privatizion of Peru’s national university system.

The Andes

Peru: new stand-off at Conga mine site

Some 4,000 campesino protesters again converged on the Conga mine site in Peru, pledging to establish an encampement and remain there to resist operations.

The Andes

Bolivia: how many indigenous nationalities?

Meeting with Bolivia’s jurists to hash out protocols for autonomy, traditional authorities accused the government of underestimating the number of indigenous peoples.