Month: May 2012
Haiti: Partners in Deforestation and “Slumification”
(IPS/Haiti Grassroots Watch) – More than 100 Haitian families now have new housing, thanks to the support of two non-governmental organisations working on reconstruction following the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake. But the circumstances in which […]
Rocky Road to Gender Equality in Latin America
Source: FPIF The increased participation of women in traditional politics in Latin America has made headlines for several years now. Last month, The New York Times published an analysis of the 2012 Women in Politics […]
Human Rights Violations in Guatemala: Hearing Indigenous Voices
Source: Cultural Survival Quarterly Issue 36-2 Summer 2012 On March 13, 2012, thousands of Indigenous people gathered in the chilly highland town of Totonicapan, Guatemala, milling into the town’s soccer stadium to await the arrival […]
‘Dirty War’ Tactic of Disappearances Reappears in Mexico
The War on Drugs is becoming another “Dirty War” in Mexico, with the tactic of enforced disappearances reappearing as a commonplace occurrence in the country. “The refusal of the authorities to recognize the true dimensions of this phenomenon and the involvement of public officials in these crimes – whether by commission, omission, or collusion with organized crime groups – has enabled this crime to spread to many parts of the country,” stated Amnesty International.
The Pentagon Seeks to Regain the Initiative in South America
The recent visit by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to three South American countries, and the installation of a Southern Command base in Concón, Chile, show the deepening of the military presence of the Pentagon in the region. In Colombia he reaffirmed the mission of Plan Colombia, to export security to the countries of the region, in particular to Central America and Mexico; in Brazil he attempted to lure the country with promises, to bring the world’s sixth-largest economy closer to Washington’s orbit; and finally, in Chile his visit coincided with the opening of the first military base of the Southern Command in that country, specializing in urban warfare.
DEA-linked Deaths Show Faults in Central American Drug Plan
Gunfire erupted from helicopters provided by the US State Department and carrying Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) trainers and Honduran police on May 11. The shots killed four Hondurans described by locals as fisherpeople. The killings have sparked outrage in the isolated coastal region. Government offices were burned, and residents have demanded the agency’s expulsion. The conflicting reports have prompted demands for a thorough investigation. “To keep an act of terror covered up in the midst of media confusion was always a strategy of psychological warfare, a special chapter of state terrorism,” wrote Honduran human rights group COFADEH.
Colombia Denounced for Continued Impunity for Human Rights Crimes
There have been “few tangible improvements” in human rights in Colombia, says Amnesty International’s new report, which also points to legal loopholes that ensure impunity, as well as government attacks on court rulings.
Mexico: Freedom of Expression Still Under Attack as Six Journalists Killed
Six journalists have been killed in less than a month in Mexico, highlighting the authorities’ ongoing failure to uphold freedom of expression by protecting media workers from threats and violence for carrying out their work. […]