Mexico
Latin America: cartels build own arms industry
Mexican authorities busted another Zetas "narco-tank factory" in Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border—days after Brazilian police made a similar find in Sao Paulo.
Tag: Brazil
Planet Watch
Behind oil slump: shale boom or geopolitics?
Experts tell us the North American shale oil boom is responsible for low prices despite Middle East unrest. But the price slump serves Western aims of weakening Russia and Iran.
The Amazon
Brazil: victory for indigenous land struggle
Brazil's Congress concluded work for the year, having failed to approve a constitutional amendment aimed at gutting the process of indigenous land demarcation.
The Amazon
Lima climate summit in shadow of state terror
Peru's government made much of its rainforest protection efforts at the Lima climate summit—but a new report names it as the fourth most dangerous country for ecology activists.
Southern Cone
Brazil: truth commission report on military rule
Brazil's National Truth Commission released a long-awaited report finding that the military regime engaged in massive human rights violations between 1964 and 1985.
Southern Cone
Police extermination campaign in Brazil’s favelas?
Media reports in Brazil suggest that the crackdown on favela gangs in the prelude to this year's contentious World Cup was actually a police extermination campaign of favela youth.
The Amazon
Brazil: police unit suspected in Belém massacre
A mass killing in several poor neighborhoods seems to be the work of an elite police unit. Based on Brazil's record, the police agents are unlikely to face criminal charges.
The Amazon
Carbon obfuscation in New York Times
Amid the current UN climate talks, the New York Times runs an op-ed entitled "To Save the Planet, Don't Plant Trees"—filled with bogus science and dishonest claims.
The Amazon
Amazon indigenous leaders killed by illegal loggers
Four Asháninka indigenous leaders, well known for their work against illegal logging in the Amazon, were murdered by presumed outlaw loggers near their home in eastern Peru.
Southern Cone
Brazil: deadly prison uprising ends in deal
Brazilian authorities reached a deal with inmates after a deadly prison uprising at Cascavel in Paraná state—one of many facilities where control of wards has been left to gangs.
The Amazon
Brazil cracks down on Amazon ‘land traffickers’
Authorities in Brazil arrested several members of a criminal "land trafficking" gang described as "the greatest destroyers" of the Amazon rainforest.
Southern Cone
Brazil: Haiti mission shaped Rio police unit
The UN mission in Haiti influenced the creation of special urban police units in Brazil—and helped the Brazilian military make up for shortfalls in its training budget.