Argentina: subway workers open turnstiles

Striking subway workers in Buenos Aires opened the turnstiles for two hours, letting commuters ride for free.

Chile: Mapuche youth killed by police in land occupation

Jaime Mendoza Collío, shot by police in the community of Angol in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía, marks the third indigenous activist killed since the restoration of democracy in 1990.

Chile: ex-soldier arrested for Víctor Jara murder

A judge in Chile has charged an ex-soldier in the 1973 murder of folk singer Víctor Jara. Up to now, the only man prosecuted in the case was the commander at the prison camp where Jara was shot.

Bogus al-Qaeda bust in Brazil

A Lebanese man held in Brazil for three weeks for posting anti-US comments on the Internet is not a member of al-Qaeda, as one Brazilian newspaper reported, federal prosecutors said.

Colombian sought in Buenos Aires Jewish center attack

An Argentine district attorney requested an international arrest warrant for a Colombian suspected of plotting the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Paraguay: ranchers seek license to destroy uncontacted tribe’s land

A Brazilian cattle-ranching company is seeking permission from Paraguay’s government to destroy forest inhabited by one of the world’s last uncontacted tribes.

Latin America: May Day marches focus on crisis

In Latin America, as in much of the world, the traditional May Day marches this year focused on the global economic crisis and especially on the unemployment rate—approaching 10% in many areas.

Chile: three charged in “Caravan of Death”

Three retired Chilean military officers were charged with the murder of 14 prisoners in the 1973 “Caravan of Death,” in which some 90 political prisoners were killed.

Chile: UN indigenous rights rapporteur fears abuse of Mapuche people

After a visit to Chile, UN special rapporteur for indigenous rights James Anaya found there is evidence that police use excessive violence against the indigenous Mapuche communities.

Paraguay: ranchers threaten uncontacted peoples

Indigenous rights groups have issued an urgent plea for the protection of uncontacted peoples in the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay, as cattle ranchers encroach on their territory.

Brazil: rural women protest pulp plantation

Some 2,000 campesina women occupied a eucalyptus plantation outside Porto Alegre as the second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development convened in the city.

Argentina blasts CIA warning on instability

The Argentinian government harshly condemned Leon Panetta, the new CIA director, for warning of an economic crisis in the country, calling it an “unacceptable interference” in its affairs.