Rodrigo Londoño AKA “Timochenko,” issued his first statement since assuming command of the FARC guerillas, saying official celebrations of the death of his predecessor Alfonso Cano exposed “the macabre face of this beautiful democracy.”
Residents in Cajamarca, Peru, held a general strike, blockading the local highway and occupying the university campus, to demand that the US-owned Yanacocha Mining Corp. drop its plans to develop a giant gold mine.
Bolivia and the US agreed to restore diplomatic relations, three years after President Evo Morales expelled the US ambassador. But in announcing the move, Morales emphasized that the DEA would not be allowed back in his country.
The future of Colombia’s FARC guerillas is in question following the death of leader “Alfonso Cano” at the hands of the Colombian army Nov. 4. Local media reports anticipate a power struggle between regional commanders.
Colombian army forces announced that they have killed Guillermo Leon Saenz AKA “Alfonso Cano”—supreme leader of the FARC guerillas. Initial reports that he was killed an in airstrike contradict forensic evidence of multiple bullet wounds.
Colombia’s DAS secret police agency was officially closed after years of scandals concerning paramilitary ties, assassinations, illegal wiretapping and corruption. DAS employees leaked hundreds of classified documents as the agency shut.
Gustavo Petro, a former leader of the M-19 guerilla movement and longtime socialist legislator, was elected mayor of Bogotá. Petro called the vote a “victory of the desire for change.” Pre-electoral violence saw 41 candidates murdered.
Growing political conflicts over development projects have prompted security forces to intervene in recent weeks in Ecuador, with military troops and campesinos in confrontations over mining and hydro concessions.
Peru’s National Police report the seizure of nearly a ton of cocaine, after two operations in the conflicted Apurímac-Ene River Valley (VRAE). Last month, two soldiers were killed when Shining Path guerillas fired on an army helicopter in the VRAE.
Peru’s populist President Ollanta Humala is facing his first corruption scandal, as his vice president Omar Chehade comes under investigation for using his influence to arrange a police eviction of cooperative farmers at a disputed property outside Lima.
Tens of thousands of striking workers were joined by students in marches through Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and other cities across Colombia to demand the right to unionize, public health care and education, and an end to labor contracting.
Local authorities in Peru’s southern region of Tacna called for a halt in protests to give the government time to meet demands that a permit for expanded mining operations be dropped—but pledge a general strike next week if demands are not met.
