The Andes

Peru: Conga project to advance in 2013?

Peru’s Minister of Mines Jorge Merino assured investors that his government will make every effort to see the controversial Conga gold mining project move forward in 2013.

The Andes

Peru: protest over mine’s water diversion

Thousands of campesinos filled the streets of Chiclayo in northern Peru to protest La Zanja mining company’s plan to dump waste water in high Andean canyons.

The Andes

Bolivia: progress seen in coca policy

Total area planted with coca in Bolivia dropped by up to 13% last year, as both eradication efforts and the areas where coca can be legally cultivated were expanded.

The Andes

Bolivia: prison corruption scandal widens

A Brooklyn businessman was freed from prison in Bolivia on money-laundering charges after he accused authorities of extorting him and illegally seizing his goods.

The Andes

Ecuador: urban guerilla suspects freed

Ten men arrested on “terrorism” and “subversion” charges in Quito were freed after a prison hunger strike. Three women in the group remain behind bars, refusing food.

The Andes

Ecuador: pipeline protests in Guayaquil

Residents and officials in Ecuador’s port Guayaquil are protesting a planned gas pipeline that would run through densely populated areas, charging inadequate safety studies.

The Andes

Peru’s Congress marks Putis massacre

A ceremony was held on the floor of Peru’s Congress to commemorate the 1984 massacre of over 100 campesinos by army troops at the village Putis, in Ayacucho region.

The Andes

Peru: Conga mine opponents threatened

Two leading opponents of the Conga mine project in Peru’s northern Cajamarca region had their homes broken into, and a third’s vehicle was vandalized.

The Andes

Colombia: petroleum workers leader murdered

Two men on a motorcycle gunned down a labor leader as tensions grew in a dispute between petroleum workers and their employer—as police try to implicate the union.