Rural Colombia, Photo: Anna Vogt
As the U.S. government maintains its uneasy silence about the kidnapping and probable murder of 43 students in Ayotzinapa, Mexico—or, for that matter, about the estimated 100 thousand Mexicans killed since the recommitment to the drug war in 2006—it is worth remembering that the United States maintains the largest and most elaborate international surveillance network in the world. Which, then, is the more troubling interpretation of events: that U.S. State Department and National Security Agency (NSA) officials know who is responsible for these horrific crimes but are choosing not to say, or that despite untold billions of dollars of investment in spy programs like PRISM and Boundless Informant, Washington still has no clue?
Denying Protections to Migrant Children is Not ‘Humanitarian’
Current law states that unlike migrant children from other countries, Mexican kids are not automatically transferred over by border officials to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) where they would be screened for their protection needs, given shelter, and placed with a family member or sponsor while they await their immigration hearing. Unless Mexican children can prove to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer—which include Border Patrol as well as Office of Field Operation agents—that they are at risk of falling victim to persecution or trafficking, they are sent straight back across the border, without a chance to tell their story before an immigration judge.
Mexican drug cartels recruit thousands of students in Texas to traffic drugs and arms
The Mexican drug cartels have managed to recruit thousands of youngsters, in primary, secondary and preparatory schools in Texas, to form gangs under their control, in order to strengthen the flow of narcotic drugs to all of the United States. This is clear from a National Gang Report from 2014, released by the Department of Public Safety for the State. In Texas there are about 100,000 Gang members and in El Paso approximately 5,600, distributed among 307 criminal organisations, according to information.
Environment of fear affects electoral coverage in Guatemala
Morazán’s case is one of the many recent threats and attacks that Guatemalan journalists have faced at the onset of the country’s electoral campaign ahead of general elections this coming September. Similarly, Juan Luis Font, director of the weekly magazineContrapoder, and Pedro Trujillo, Prensa Libre columnist, were threatened after criticizing Manuel Baldizón, the Libertad Democrática Renovada (Renewed Democratic Liberty) party pre-candidate.
Guatemala’s indigenous peoples change strategy to seek more political representation
Guatemala’s indigenous peoples are organizing in a new political party to shift from traditional resistance to actually reaching seats of power. The symbol of the initiative – called the Convergencia por la Revolución Democrática (Convergence for Democratic Revolution, or CRD) – is a multi-colored Mayan star that alludes to their exclusion, extreme poverty and ongoing violations of basic human rights.
San Pedro Sula, Honduras: Nearly a War Zone
To try and target the problems driving this violence, the Honduran government, along with Guatemala and El Salvador, has released its Alliance for Prosperity plan, designed to increase infrastructure and entice foreign investment. The Obama administration just announced it would ask Congress for $1 billion for Central America to help fund the initiative, but details about security strategy are scarce. It remains to be seen exactly how this money will be spent. Looking at San Pedro Sula, a dramatic change in political will would be needed for any initiative of this nature to be successful. Funding could be helpful but only if there is a government willing to reform its police, push for justice and invest in education, jobs programs, violence prevention, health, child protection services, and community development needed to protect its poorer citizens.
Why El Salvador gang ceasefire is bad news for police
For Father Antonio Rodriguez, a priest who for 15 years ran a rehabilitation programme for former gang members, the uncompromising stance is a depressing re-run of the failed policies of the past when rampant violence continued even as jails were filled with tattoo-covered gang members. “Nobody is offering anything new, any real policies on trying to tackle the underlying causes of crime in this country,” he said. “We are just hearing the failed old ’iron fist’ approach of previous governments. I don’t know what Giuliani will recommend, but any lessons from New York are not going to work here. El Salvador is a different place with different problems.”
Nicaraguans demand action over illness killing thousands of sugar cane workers
“I was healthy when I started working for the company and sick when they got rid of me,” said Walter, who asked for his surname to be withheld to protect his relatives, 13 of whom work in sugar cane. “Every family here has lost someone, the work is making us sick, but there are no alternatives,” he said. “We are all dying from it, it’s a total epidemic.”
At least 20 dead in Haiti Carnival accident
The accident occurred as thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince for the raucous annual celebration. Video from the scene showed sparks coursing from the wire after a singer from the Haitian hip-hop group Barikad Crew was jolted by the overhead power line as the float passed beneath it. The cable appeared to have shocked several others as well.
Colombia’s ex-child soldiers face their tormentors amid peace efforts
“These recruited minors never wanted to be part of this war. They were totally tricked. For this, I ask for forgiveness,” said Villa, who was let out of prison for several hours to deliver his apology to Carlos and six other ex-child combatants, in the presence of government officials at the offices of the Organisation of American States in Bogota.
Álvaro Uribe Addresses WOLA’s 5 Questions on the Colombian Peace Process
Washington has shown consistent bipartisan support to President Santos’s peace process. While WOLA hopes that this bipartisan support will continue, we also welcome visits from critics of the process and believe that critics, like Álvaro Uribe, deserve a hearing. The concerns of critical sectors of Colombia’s democracy must be taken into account, to the greatest extent possible, to guarantee a broader front of support for an eventual accord and its implementation. A post-conflict Colombia should resolve its political differences through dialogue and respect for human rights, not violence.
Decolonizing Bolivia’s History of Indigenous Resistance
The walls of the Vice Ministry’s offices were decorated with portraits of indigenous rebels Túpac Katari and Bartolina Sisa who fought against the colonial Spanish in 1781. I sat down to talk with Elisa Vega Sillo, the current Director of the Depatriarchalization Unit in the Vice Ministry of Decolonization, a former leader in the Bartolina Sisa indigenous campesina women’s movement, and a member of the Kallawaya indigenous nation. In the interview. Elisa spoke about the unique work of the Vice Ministry of Decolonization, the role of historical memory in the country’s radical politics, and the importance of decolonizing Bolivia’s history of indigenous resistance.