U.S.-Colombia Labour Rights Plan Falls Short
(IPS) – Three years after Colombia agreed to U.S. demands to better protect labour rights and activists, a “Labour Plan of Action” (LPA) drawn up by the two nations is showing mixed results at best, […]
Month: April 2014
Guatemala – Interview with Judge Yassmín Barrios: “The Door to Impunity and Corruption is Being Opened”
Source: El Periódico Judge Iris Yassmín Barrios, presiding judge of the High Risk Crimes Court A, refers to the decision handed down against her last week by the Ethics Tribunal of the Guatemalan Bar Association […]
Colombia: ‘That is How Dead Guerillas are Made’, Through False Positives
“So you are the mother of the narco-guerilla commander,” the Ocaña District Attorney told her. “No, sir. I am the mother of Fair Leonardo Porras Bernal,” said Luz Maria Bernal. She replied that her son Leonardo, 26, had been born with mental disabilities and that he had the mental capacity of an eight year old. He could not read or write and had been certified as having a mental capacity of 53%.The right side of his body was paralyzed, including the hand which was allegedly used to hold the gun.
Femicide Courts in Guatemala: A Beacon of Light in the Fight against Impunity
Amid highest murder rate for women in the country, specialized judges confront gender-based violence. Source: Latinamerica Press On Mar. 15, 2013, around 9:30 a.m., 18-year-old law student Estéfani Julissa Estrada Neill, from the highland department […]
USAID Subversion in Latin America Not Limited to Cuba
Source: The Americas Blog A new investigation by the Associated Press into a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project to create a Twitter-style social media network in Cuba has received a lot of attention […]
Defending the Earth in Argentina: From Direct Action to Autonomy
Emilio Spataro, an organizer in Corrientes, has been active in various movements in Argentina since his teen years. He was a part of the popular rebellion in December of 2001 and the subsequent neighborhood assemblies, building occupations and horizontal self organized projects. Since 2009 he has been living in Corrientes, collaborating with territorially based movements.
Tolupan Land Defenders Subject to More Threats in Honduras
Source: América Latina en Movimiento (ALAI) Indigenous Tolupan land defenders from the San Francisco de Locomapa tribe have once again been the targets of threats, despite precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human […]