* Latin America: At a global climate conference in South Africa, a representative of the ALBA bloc called for developed countries to take more action against increased greenhouse gas emissions.
* Guatemala: Guatemalan officials urged Canada to prosecute suspected war criminal Jorge Sosa rather than extradite him to the U.S. where he’s accused of immigration fraud.
* Peru: Construction at the proposed Conga gold mine was suspended in response to a six-day protest against the plan.
* Chile: A Chilean judge requested the extradition of a “former U.S. military attaché” suspected in the murder of a journalist days after the 1973 coup.
* Sudan: Kenya’s ambassador to Sudan was expelled as a possible retaliation for a Kenyan high court decision ordering the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
* Africa: Thousands of Egyptians peacefully participated in parliamentary elections on Tuesday while opposition presidential candidates in Congo called for the annulment of Monday’s elections.
* Iran: Protestors allegedly “ransacked offices” at the British embassy in Tehran as part of their opposition to additional financial sanctions placed on Iran by the U.K.
* U.S.: The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus agreed to pay a $270,000 fine as part of a settlement in an animal rights case.
Image Source – Flickr user Al Jazeera English (Sudanese president Omar al Bashir, seen here in this January 2011 photo, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for alleged war crimes in Darfur). (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Online Sources- CNN, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, BBC News
* Ecuador: Residents of four villages were ordered to evacuate as a result of increased ash and super-hot gas coming from the Tungurahua volcano.
* Mexico: A “vocal member” of the anti-violence Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity was shot and killed on Monday.
* South America: Venezuelan police arrested Maximiliano Bonilla, one of Colombia’s most wanted drug traffickers, and are getting ready to extradite him to the U.S.
* Chile: Workers at one of the world’s top copper mines, Collahuasi in Chile, are entering the second day of a strike on Tuesday.
Image Source – Via Flickr user marriedwithluggage (Photo of the Tungurahua volcano erupting in November 2010). (CC BY 2.0)
Online Sources – Sydney Morning Herald, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, Reuters
The Ladies in White are a female group of Cuban government dissenters who have called for the freeing of their relatives who have been imprisoned since 2003. The ladies dressed in black in the video below are an estimated one thousand women in Montevideo, Uruguay who participated in a silent protest on November 25th:
Similar protests where held last Friday throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in order to commemorate the International Day Against Gender-Based Violence.
* Venezuela: Officials on Friday commenced the repatriating of gold reserves from European banks to Venezuela.
* Brazil: Amnesty International blasted Brazilian authorities for “failing to resolve outstanding land claims” that endanger indigenous communities.
* Guyana: Parliamentary elections are being held today with the possibility that the Alliance for Change group could break Guyana’s traditional two-party hegemony.
* Latin America: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned that Latin America should prepare for “possible turbulence” as a result of the European debt crisis.
* Egypt: Thousands of protesters jammed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square today and continued to urge the military-led government to accelerate a transition to civilian rule.
* U.S.: Rather than focus on the consumerism and sporadic scuffles on Black Friday why not celebrate Evacuation Day instead?
* South Korea: In what sounds like the premise behind an episode of “The Twilight Zone” robotic prison guards may be used to monitor inmates at a South Korean prison.
* Africa: Ethiopia could be the latest African country to send troops to Somalia in order to combat insurgents reportedly linked to Al-Qaeda.
Image Source – Via Flickr user Lillian Wagdy. (“Tahrir Square on November 22nd” of this year).
Online Sources- Reuters, CBS News, The Daily Show, Voice of America, BBC News
* Peru: Activity in the Cajamarca region is slowly returning to normal after thousands of demonstrators marched in protest against the proposed Conga gold mine.
* Mexico: A group of Mexican human rights lawyers have filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against several senior officials including President Felipe Calderon.
* Uruguay: World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan blasted tobacco firms that "harass" countries that have strong anti-smoking laws like Uruguay.
* Venezuela: China and Venezuela signed a series of pacts this week in areas such as energy, telecommunications and agriculture.
Image Source – Flickr user Participatory Learning (The Yanacocha gold mine seen here is owned by the same firm that is behind the proposed Conga mine in Peru’s Cajamarca region). (CC BY 2.0).
Online Sources- Fox News, BBC News, MSNBC, BusinessWeek
On a day of reflction that is Thanksgiving, Mercedes Sosa's touching version of "Gracias a la vida" ("Thanks to Life") is certainly worth listening to: Video Source - YouTube user Soror
* Colombia: According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Colombia has the world’s second-highest number of casualties due to landmines with over 500 victims in 2010.
* Brazil: The country's National Petroleum Agency barred Chevron from oil drilling activities days after the company accepted responsibility for an oil leak off the Brazilian coast.
* Panama: French officials gave permission for the extradition of ex-Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega back to his homeland.
* Mexico: Police in Guadalajara found at least twenty bodies located in three abandoned cars reportedly along with “a message from an alleged gang.”
Image Source – Via Flickr user Luis Perez (Possible landmine found in the Colombian state of Antioquia). (CC BY 2.0)
Online Sources- Colombia Reports, Voice of America, The Guardian, BBC News
As Lille Langtry mentioned in the Memory in Latin America blog, November 23rd is the International Day to End Impunity. Langtry observed that the date highlights crimes against journalists "who have been killed for exercising their right to freedom of expression."
Last week human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) blasted the Mexican government for not doing enough to protect members of the press from violence. "Mexican authorities have to show that they do not tolerate threats and violence against the media by putting in effective preventative measures, leading impartial investigations on these attacks and assuring those responsible are brought to justice," noted AI special advisor Javier Zuniga.
As we mentioned one year ago, several local newspapers decreased their reporting on organized crime in order to prevent being targeted by drug gangs and other criminal groups. Meanwhile journalists under constant harassment and death threats like Emilio Gutierrez Soto have sought political asylum in the neighboring U.S.
The below video from the International Center for Journalists provides testimony from Rocío Idalia Gallegos Rodríguez and Sandra Rodríguez Nieto, a pair of reporters who work at El Diario de Juárez. Despite the great dangers of their investigative work, both of these muckraking reporters have written about drug violence, government corruption and impunity in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez.
Video Source - YouTube via the International Center for Journalists
Online Sources - Memory in Latin America, GlobalPost, The Latin Americanist, Reuters
* Venezuela: In order to combat high inflation the government introduced additional price controls on eighteen products.
* Mexico: Troops confiscated over $15 million suspected of belonging to Sinaloa drug gang leader Joaquin Guzman.
* Guatemala: Investigators identified the remains of two people suspected of being kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the military nearly thirty years ago.
* Chile: PolitiFact.com labeled as “False” U.S. presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s claim that Chile has a 72% national savings rate.
Image Source – Via Flickr user blmurch (market stall in Merida, Venezuela), (CC BY 2.0)
Online Sources – Bloomberg, PolitiFact, BBC News, Reuters
* World: According to a U.N. report AIDS-related deaths worldwide have fallen by 21% since the 2005 “peak” while the number of new cases has leveled off.
* Cambodia: One of the three former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of the genocide of 2.2 million people claimed that he defended Cambodia from invasion by Vietnam.
* Egypt: In response to mounting protests across Egypt the head of the country’s ruling military council promised to hold presidential elections by the end of June 2012.
* Syria: The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee backed a resolution to “strongly condemn” the Syrian government’s crackdown on dissenters.
Image Source – Via Flickr user IIP State (“Huge HIV/AIDS ribbons illuminate the US Embassy South Africa building each night leading up to World Aids Day 2009.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Online Sources- Voice of America, BusinessWeek, Reuters, BBC News
* Latin America: Brazil’s government fined Chevron $27 million for causing a leak off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, while a pair of U.S. senators introduced a bill targeting foreign oil drilling in Cuban waters.
* Colombia: The price of a cup of coffee could increase after output from Colombia decreased due to inclement weather.
* El Salvador: Mari Carmen Aponte’s confirmation to become permanent U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador could be held up due to concerns over her alleged “pro-gay agenda.”
* Paraguay: Some lawmakers in Paraguay are upset over supposed “military intimidation” by neighboring Brazil near their border.
Image Source – Via Flickr user Josh Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)
* Egypt: Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to call for a quicker transfer of power to civilian rule. (Update: Over the weekend at least four people died amid clashes between protesters and police attempting to clear Tahrir Square).
* U.S.: Will the need to move some operations indoors due to the winter have a major impact on Occupy movements across the country?
* Iran: The U.N.'s “nuclear watchdog” approved a resolution that blasted Iran’ s nuclear plans but refrained from referring the country to the U.N. Security Council.
* Italy: Recently named Prime Minister Mario Monti easily won a vote of confidence from parliament, which will likely boost his plans to combat Italy’s debt crisis.
* Venezuela: Thousands of troops under a new command known as the People's Guard will be deployed throughout the country in order to combat a spike in violent crimes.
* Haiti: Vaccinations will soon be administered in order to stop a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 7000 people since October 2010.
* Puerto Rico: The yearly record for murders is expected to be surpassed in the next few days with the 1000th murder.
* Nicaragua: Recently reelected President Daniel Ortega will surely be seeking to take advantage of a two-thirds majority of his political party in the Nicaraguan legislature.
