Impunity Watch: South America

Key Witness to be Called in Fujimori Trial; Gap Between Rich and Poor Widens in Brazil; Allegations of Corruption Hinders Chavez' Opponents from Running for Office, Aids Drug Smugglers

LIMA, Peru – Six months into the human rights trial of ex-President Alberto Fujimori, prosecutors will call their key witness, Vladimiro Montesinos, on Monday.

Montesinos was head of Peru’s intelligence service during Fujimori’s administration, and allegedly organized the Colina group, a squad of killers who murdered 25 civilians.  He was accountable to none but the president.

“Montesinos controlled the armed forces, the judicial system, the attorney general’s office.  He had immense power,” said Fernando Rospigliosi, a political scientist.

Fujimori faces up to 30 years in prison and a $33 million dollar fine if found guilty.  He has denied any knowledge of the Colina group’s existence.  In other cases, Montesinos said he was acting on the ex-president’s orders.

Carlos Orellana, Fujimori’s speechwriter and close aide, said that Montesinos manipulated Fujimori by “fabricat[ing] enemies” and then promising “that he would take care of it.”

Dennis Jett, the U.S. ambassador to Peru from 1996-99, disagrees:

“[Fujimori] was in charge at all times.  I think he created Montesinos.  He kept Montesinos there as long as he was useful, and he gave him a lot of discretion to do things.”

Montesinos is currently serving a 20 year sentence for arms smuggling.

For more information, please see:
AP – Peru trial sensation:  President versus spymaster – 29 June 2008

Tehran Times – Fujimori to meet ex-henchman Montesinos at trial – 30 June 2008

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BRASILIA, Brazil – The gap between rich and poor has widened since 2002, a government study showed last week.  Brazil is recognized as one of the world’s least equitable societies.

Between 2002 and 2008, the gap between the highest and lowest salaries fell by 7 percent, said the government’s Institute for Applied Economic Research.

According to IPEA president Marcio Poochmann, in most industrialized countries, salaries account for more than two-thirds of national income.  Salaries accounted for in Brazil in 2007 was only 39.1 percent.  The wealthy earned 27.3 times more than the poor in 2003.

President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva hopes to use oil revenues to help the poor.

For more information, please see:
Reuters – Brazil salary gap narrows, rich-poor divide same – 23 June 2008

Oil & Gas Journal – Brazil sets sights on increasing oil production – 29 June 2008

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CARACAS, Venezuela – Thousands of Hugo Chavez’ political opponents gathered in Caracas last Saturday to protest a ruling they say is aimed at them.  Almost 400 people have been barred from running in November’s elections.

According to the government, they are being investigated for corruption, and are therefore ineligible to run for office.  Eighty percent of the names on the list are from the opposition.

The corruption may be within Chavez’ own administration.  Anti drug officials estimate that nearly half, possibly two-thirds, of the cocaine in the U.K. has been trafficked through Venezuela. 

It is thought that senior commanders in Venezuela’s security forces are helping the smugglers, most notably by allowing them to use military airfields.  Drug runners are relatively safe from arrest inside Chavez’ country, reports the Telegraph.

In the year before Chavez came into office, Venezuela’s security forces made 11,581 drug-related arrests, this year, only 1,979 such arrests have been made, over an 80% drop.  Experts note that reasons include his deteriorating relationship with Colombia, his unwillingness to work with the U.S., and his close ties with rebel groups in Colombia, namely the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Last June, smugglers were arrested at the main airport on Venezuela’s Margarita Island with 2.2 tons of cocaine.  Five police officers from the CICPC, an elite investigative unit, were part of their gang and had escorted them into the airport.

One official had “no doubt” that senior figures in Venezuela’s security forces were helping the smugglers.

For more information, please see:
Telegraph – Venezuela ‘supplies half of Britian’s cocaine – 27 June 2008

BBC News – Testing times ahead for Chavez – 27 June 2008

Chile Remembers Killing of Allende; Bolivia Strong with Indigenous and Agricultural Reforms; Rio de Janeiro Militia Accused of Torture

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile-  South American people remember and celebrate the 100th anniversary of Salvador Allende’s birth. Current Chile’s President Bachelet opened the ceremony by calling Mr. Allende the first Socialist leader, “comrade and colleague, President” forerunner of a new America.

President Allende was considered part of the "Chilean road to socialism" but he was also aware of the U.S. ideals and objectives to impede any socialist government from flourishing in Latin America.

Cuban News Paper Granma also remembers Allende “not as a utopian or a dreamer, he was a revolutionary entirely committed to the cause of the working class in Chile, to which he devoted and sacrificed his heroic life”. (Photo:  La Nacion)

Allende was killed on September 11th 1973. It wasn’t Pinochet alone, US President Richard Nixon, Kissinger and the Central Intelligence Agency had also been linked to the assassination. After Allende’s death and the US engineered coup, one of the darkest periods in South American History began, with the Operation Condor, the systematic and institutionalized disappearances and mass killings thought out South America. Killings sponsored by fascist governments against its people.

For more information please see:

Granma International - Allende: a predecessor – 26 June, 2008

La Nacion - Bachelet encabezó el principal acto por natalicio de Allende – 27 June, 2008  -------------------------

LA PAZ, Bolivia – The Santa Cruz movement for independence that attempts to alienate its resources and capital from the central Government in La Paz, has caused more incidents and confrontations.

The opposition protesters launched a strike against Morales over his attempt to control a national assembly in charge of rewriting the country's constitution. Also, the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (Cruz’s Youth Union), accused of killings of indigenous, vandalism and an attempt of assassination of President Morales, has lead multiple incidents, including the attack on a Police Station in Viru Viru. This group burned police cars and stroke in the roadways. Upon detention of some members, its leaders proceeded to attack the detention center and police officers.

Those strikers "are against the policies of nationalization of hydrocarbons, against the new land policies and the agricultural revolution," Morales said. President Morales accused the US of being behind the opposition’s efforts against stability in Bolivia. The media has also stated that US driven efforts against Morales, resemble the attacks made against Allende’s government in Chile.

Morales was making a one-day stopover in Guatemala to push for indigenous rights and political power before continuing his to Cuba and later New York.

For more information please see:

Radio Fides Virtual - Unionistas intentan tomar retén en Viru Viru y queman una patrulla policial – 26 June, 2008

Times NOW - Bolivian Pres slams the US – 27 June, 2008
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A group of journalist moved into the neighborhood of Batan to cover the situation lived there. The group believed that an area controlled by a militia (which included off-duty police), would be safer than an area controlled by drug dealers.

In May 14^th, masked men entered the rented house where the journalist, photographer and driver were staying; they were kidnapped and tortured for over Six hours. 

The New York Times reported that the group was forced to play Russian roulette, were nearly suffocated with plastic bags, suffered electric shocks and slapped and kicked. The female reported was also threatened to be sexually assaulted.

The Minister of the Brazilian Secretariat of Human Rights has expressed the intentions of judging the involved militants for torture. 

For more information please see:

The New York Times - In Rio Slum, Armed Militia Replaces Drug Gang’s Criminality With Its Own – 13 June, 2008

O Globo Online - Justiça Militar fará primeira acareação com os militares envolvidos na morte de jovens da Providência - 26 June, 2008

Massacre in Guyana; Paraguay Prison Riot Solved; Second Venezuelan Journalist Murdered this Month

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

 

 

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Eight people were shot and killed and their bodies were set on fire in a small diamond mine. The assailants and the motive remain unknown, and police are only fairly certain the massacre occurred on Saturday.

 

The owner of the mine, George Arokium, discovered the destruction Saturday afternoon. His son and his brother were among the victims. Police continue to investigate and compare this massacre to the others earlier this year. Of course, the most wanted man in the country, Rondell Rawlins, has been mentioned in all the same articles but has not yet been connected to the massacre.

 

For more information, please see:

AP - 8 massacred at Guyana mine - 22 June 2008

Reuters - Eight Shot and Burned in Guyana Mine - 23 June 2008

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ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay - Prisoners at the Esperanza industrial prison rioted for four hours on Friday. The prisoners submitted a list of demands that included more conjugal visits and an end to the alleged abuse from prison guards.

 

Conjugal visits are visits allowed to family members that are private and extended. These usually occur with a legal spouse and are known to include sexual relations.

 

At the time of the riot, Esperanza prison allowed conjugal visits only during the day. Authorities have agreed to allow conjugal visits after working hours as well as promising to investigate accusations of abuse within the prison.

 

No deaths or injuries occurred as a result of the riot.

 

For more information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald - Riot over sex in prisons - 22 June 2008

AP- Paraguay prison agrees to inmates' demand for more sex - 20 June 2008

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CARACAS, Venezuela - Javier Garcia, evening anchorman for Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) was killed this weekend. His body was found by his brother with multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and right leg. His brother found him in his own bed on Sunday, after he had been missing for two days.

 

The murder's surrounding circumstances are very unclear; prosecutors are investigating.

 

The doorman of Garcia's building stated that an unidentified man tried to leave the apartment with a suitcase on Saturday night. When security told the man he could not take the suitcase with him, he returned it and then left. Three packed bags were found near the front door of Garcia's apartment.

 

RCTV spokesperson has stated that it is too early to connect Garcia's death with his work in the media. However, this is the second journalist killed in Venezuela this month. The first was Pierre Fould Gerges, killed on June 2, 2008 by an unidentified gunman following numerous death threats of the Reporte Diario de la Economía, the paper of which he was vice president.

 

Violence against the press in Venezuela is rare (only four deaths since 1992), however the government has repressed the local press.

 

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists - RCTC anchor found dead in Caracas - 16 June 2008

AP- Venezuelan prosecutor investigates killing of journalist - 17 June 2008

Xinhua - Venezuelan RCTV journalist stabbed to death - 17 June 2008

 

Police Hostages in Peru Freed; FARC Releases Hostage Video; US Links Venezuelans to Hezbollah, Chavez Protests

By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

LIMA, Peru – Last Monday, protesters objecting to mining revenue injured at least 20 civilians, 40 police officers.  At least 60 police officers were held hostage in southern Peru.  They were freed about a day later.

Protestors in the state of Moquegua took hostages during demonstrations calling for greater share of mining revenue.  They also blocked parts of the Pan American Highway for almost a week.

President Alan Garcia said Tuesday that he expects the individuals responsible for any violence to be held responsible for their crimes.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Reports:  Police hurt, held hostage amid Peru protests – 17 June 2008

CNN – Police hostages freed in Peru – 18 June 2008

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CALI, Colombia – The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) released what a appears to be a recent video of kidnapped politician Sigifredo Lopez, the only survivor of a group of 12 politicians who were killed by the rebels in 2002.

A BBC correspondent reported that Colombia refused to deal with the rebels and intends to destroy them with their military.  The video showed Lopez wearing a crucifix, telling is family not to worry.  He also said that FARC’s position had not changed, that they were still demanding a safe haven to discuss the release of hostages in exchange for rebels in prison, which President Alvaro Uribe has refused.

Lopez called for the government to meet with the rebels, calling both sides’ refusal to compromise on the safe haven issue an example of “showing the world their cruelty and barbarism.”

Colombia is known as the “kidnap capital of the world.”  One person per day is kidnapped, down from 10 per day in 2002, reports the BBC.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Farc rebels release hostage video – 22 June 2008

AFP – Colombian hostage calls for rebel-government talks – 22 June 2008

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CARACAS, Venezuela – The United States charged a Venezuelan official and others with helping Hezbollah.  Washington considers the Lebanese group a terrorist organization.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that the U.S. is using these accusations against Diplomat Nasr al Din and Lebonese born businessman Fazwi Ka’an to “see if the world will make a move” against him.  He also said that the US is trying to bring him before an international court.

The U.S. said Wednesday that it was freezing the assets of the two Venezuelans and accused the government of protecting the two men.

For more information, please see:

AP – Chavez refutes US Hezbollah charges – 22 June 2008

Taipei Times – US Hezbollah charge is a pretext, Chavez says – 22 June 2008

Bolivia Struggles Against Indigenous Forced Labor; Brazilian Industry Confronts Amnesty International Accusations; Colombian Ex-Paramilitary Leader Involved in Multiple Crimes

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ , Bolivia - The Bolivian Guarani Indians have been exploited for generations on ranches, until the current government began initiatives to change the status quo.

"About 90 percent of the land in Bolivia is in the hands of 10 percent (of the population) ... (and most land owners) are neither indigenous nor farmers" In the Alto Parapeti region of eastern Bolivia landowners have forced landless Guarani Indian families into labor.

After investigating the matter, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that Guaranies live in a condition "reminiscent of slavery"; urging the government to address the problem.

Morales’ Government aims to help some of the thousands of Guarani people from eastern Bolivia by creating a 390,000-acre reservation, but this initiative has been strongly opposed by the landowners. Some accuse these landowners of firing workers for taking part in associations of Indians, and for demanding better conditions and salaries. These conditions have perpetuated through time, and the babies are born in dept to the landowners, forced to work their whole lives.

For more information please see:

Reuters - Refile-Bolivian Guarani resist forced labor on ranches – 18 June 2008

ABI - CIDH muestra al mundo la vergonzosa servidumbre en Bolivia; latifundistas callan – 18 June 2008

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BRASILIA, Brazil - Amnesty International report in Human Rights worldwide accused the biofuel industry in Brazil of exploitation of forced labor, and degrading treatment of the workers.

In 2007, over a half of 6,000 workers rescued by the government from slavery conditions were sugar cane cutters. In big cane-growing areas, Nort-Easter States, and Mato Grosso do Sul, Guarani Indians and other groups, who have lost their land to cattle ranchers, provide cheap labour.

In Brazil, more than 300,000 workers are seasonal cane cutters in. It has been stated that their work and general conditions are rarely basic and mostly deplorable servitude.

"Brazil has a great climate, great land and technology, but a lot of the competitive edge for biofuels is due to worker exploitation -- from slave work to underpayment," said Leonardo Sakamoto, a political scientist who runs a nonprofit labor watchdog group in Sao Paulo. In the Last year, at least 18 cane cutters have died of dehydration, heart attacks or other ailments linked to exhaustion in this region, where the forests long ago gave way to agriculture.

For more information please see:

Los Angeles Times - Human cost of Brazil's biofuels boom – 16 June 2008

Acoriano Oriental - Amnistia denuncia "trabalho forçado" nas plantações de cana no Brasil – 29 May 2008

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BOGOTA, Colombia – As part of the peace process with the Auto Defensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), and the Process of “Peace and Justice”, the Paramilitary leaders receive reduced sentences by cooperating with the justice department in searching for the disappeared and by testifying against others involved in the atrocities.

AKA ‘El Iguano’ former commander of the AUC’s Catacumbo bloc, accused Former deputy director of Colombia’s intelligence agency DAS, José Miguel Narváez of instigating AUC leader Carlos Castaño to murder journalist and comedian Jaime Garzón and ordered the kidnapping of Senator Piedad Córdoba. It was also said that Narváez visited AUC camps and lectured the militants on why it was legal to kill communists in Colombia.

During hearings, the ex-paramilitary also mentioned that 680 million pesos were paid by the electric company Termotasajero, as well as transporting companies, rice growers, and gas stations. 28 million pesos were paid by the Colombian Gas company, Ecopetrol, and the money was used for a communications tower installed next to the police and military towers in the town of Ricaurte.

The exleader also revealed to have had agreements with 10 municipalities to receive Money from public Works. The money received was used to buy weapons and also to bribe clinics to attend the wounded militants without leaving records. Upon confessions linking various companies and various public servants, the ex-paramilitary’s attorney was threaded and security measures have been taken.

For more information please see:

Radio Caracol - “El Iguano” salpica a Termotasajero y Ecopetrol – 19 June 2008

El Tiempo - Perfil del ex jefe de DAS vinculado al asesinato de Jaime Garzón – 19 June 2008

UPDATE: Police Make Arrests in Attempted Assassination; Ecuadoreans Linked to Cocaine in Four Separate Incidents; OAS Approves Resolution to Protect LGBT Community

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador - Three Colombians and one Ecuadorian have been arrested in Ecuador for plotting against President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa.  The leftist president had been informed of the plot that included contracts for the attack.

In the accused men’s hotel rooms, police found photographs and maps of the presidential palace and surrounding area.  According to BBC News, “[President] Correa raised the possibility that the plot was the work of conmen seeking to extort cash out of the authorities.”

This alleged attempted assassination may raise tensions between Ecuador and the neighboring Colombia only a few a months after the nations butted heads regarding a Colombian raid on a FARC rebel camp in Ecuador.

For more information, please see:
Netherlands Worldwide – Ecuadorian police foil plot to assassinate president- 13 June 2008
BBC News – Three Colombians Arrested in Ecuador in Alleged Assassination Plot – 13 June 2008
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QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuadorian Antinarcotics police seized 165 kg of cocaine.  The cocaine was kept in packs hidden in 28 crated of ivory nut palm wood with false bottoms.  The drugs were in route to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Alvarado Jorge was also found with 65,000 U.S counterfeit dollar notes.  This incident occurred in the Jose Joaquin de Olmeda airport in the western coast city of Guayaquil.

In other recent incidents, María Cristina Alvarado Jorge, a Spanish national as well as Jaime Arturo Ubano, a Colombian national were arrested for carrying cocaine internationally.  Ubano was carrying a fake Ecuadorian identification card with the name of Jose Melinton Santos Vera.

Finally, Russian customs authorities in St. Petersburg confiscated 21kg of cocaine on a ship coming from Ecuador.  A crew member aboard the ship admitted the drugs were his and now faces up to seven years in prison.

For more information, please see:

Xinhua – Ecuadorian police seize 165 kg of cocaine – 13 June 2008

Russian News and information Agency - Russian customs officers seize 21 kg of cocaine on Ecuador ship – 9 June 2008

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New York, United States – The Organization of American States (OAS) unanimously adopted a resolution, The Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, on June 3, 2008 condemning human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.    At least 10 OAS countries have domestic laws protecting against these types of crimes, however this resolution is a bold step in the international community.  Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina are now discussing national laws that would protect the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) community.

The LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch has called for changes in law and policy in order for the resolution to have an impact.  Its director has praised the resolution, reminding us that “sexual rights are human rights.”

For more information, please see:
Pink News -  Progress on gay rights in the Americas – 11 June 2008

Human Rights Watch – OAS Adopts Resolution to Protect Sexual Rights – 6 June 2008

Chavez Calls on FARC to Release Hostages; Farmers and Police Clash in Tax Protest in Argentina; Uribe Agrees to Protect Rebels in Exchange for Betancourt

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombian President Alvaro Uribe embraced a call by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to free their hostages in a step towards ending their insurgency.

Although he had previously called for more recognition of FARC, Chavez urged FARC to release their hostages unconditionally.

“I want to reiterate our thanks to President Hugo Chavez for his recent comments that help Colombia win a definite peace.  I believe they were positive comments,” Uribe said.

Uribe and Chavez will meet to repair ties between the nations that were frayed when computers apparently linked Chavez to FARC.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Colombia welcomes Chavez shift on guerrilla support – 14 June 2008

BBC News – Colombia backs Chavez Farc call – 10 June 2008

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – A protest turned violent Saturday when military police used batons to try to clear roadblocks on a main highway.  Farmers were on their fourth strike to protest tax hikes in three months, halting sales of grains and most agricultural products.

Military police dragged demonstrators off of Route 14 close to Gualeguaychu to allow trucks carrying food and goods to pass.  Local reports said there were several injuries and 18 arrests, including farm union leader Alfredo De Angeli, an outspoken critic of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s export tax.

Nearly one quarter of the population of Argentina is poor, and the roadblocks worsented food and fuel shortages.  Thousands took to the streets in the nation’s capital of Buenos Aires to protest the violence and support the farmers yesterday.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Argentina farm strike flares again after crackdown – 15 June 2008

CNN – Argentina farm strike turns violent – 14 June 2008

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BOGOTA, Colombia – A rebel with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has agreed to free Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages in exchange for protection from extradition.  Alvaro Uribe said Friday that his government has accepted the rebel initiative. 

“A letter was sent to the guerrilla who is offering to release Betancourt and other hostages, telling him that if he keeps his promise he will not be extradited, I hope he is sincere,” Uribe said.

Betancourt is a French-Canadian citizen who was kidnapped in 2002 as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency.  She is the highest profile hostage FARC holds.  It is believed that rebels currently hold some 700 hostages, including three U.S. military contractors kidnapped in 2003.

For more information, please see:

China View – FARC member offers to release Betancourt, other hostages – 14 June 2008

Scotsman.com – FARC Rebel offers to free jungle hostages – 15 June 2008

Bolivian Asylum Seeker in the US Accused of Atrocities in Bolivia; Colombia in Alert for Raising Terrorist Attacks; Senate in Chile Interprets Legislation to Protect Criminals Accused of Human Rights Abuses

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Carlos Sanchez Berzain, Bolivia's former defense minister was granted political asylum in the United States last year with a claim of fear of persecution by Evo Morales’ government adding that he would be "persecuted and tortured".

The Bolivian government is now considering a request for extradition against Sanchez Berzain for his role in a 2003 army offensive that killed some 60 civilians. The victims’ families have protested in Bolivia against the Asylum and requesting the extradition.

For more information please see:

AFP - Former Bolivian defense minister given US asylum – 10 June 2008

EFE - Víctimas de la represión en Bolivia piden la deportación de un ex ministro – 13 June 2008

BOGOTA, Colombia – A wave of attacks has left Colombian security forces in alert. Analysts say that FARC has conducted these attacks during the past month to regain straight, and demonstrate that they are still present. Analysts also say that this strong wave is likely to fade away.

In June 5, Farc attempted an attack to a police patrol in the Panamerican Highway; there have been other three explosions in the city of Buenaventura, Bogota has suffered two explosions, and a taxi was found with 120 Kilos of explosives presumably to be used in an attempted murder of the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.   

For more information please see:

La Patria - En alerta por ataques terroristas en Bogotá – 12 June 2008

El Pais - Farc, tras ola de atentados – 12 June 2008

SANTIAGO, Chile – Chile’s Senate President Adolfo Zaldívar’s decision to declare inadmissible a bill that would make alleged human rights violators liable with full legal responsibilities provoked criticism on Monday. Some argue that the bill was unconstitutional and others said that the decision was a setback for human rights in Chile.

Once passed, the bill could have created liability for individuals accused of atrocities during Chile’s 1973-1990 military dictatorship. The bill would declare individuals accused of human rights violations or war crimes ineligible for amnesty or pardons. It would also establish that no statute of limitations could apply to these offenses.
It has been reported that the issue will be taken to the Constitutional Commission or to Chile’s Constitutional Court.

For more information please see:

Valparaiso Times - HUMAN RIGHTS BILL DECLARED INADMISSIBLE IN CHILE SENATE  - 10 June, 2008

Terra - Diputados recurren al Tribunal por decision del Senado chileno sobre la ley de amnistía - 12 June, 2008

 

UPDATE: Guyana Gang Escapes Raid; US Judge Sentences High-Ranking Cocaine Smuggler to 45 Years; Chavez Calls for FARC to Surrender

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – During a raid over the weekend, a heavily armed gang led by Guyana’s most wanted criminal evaded a security assault and escaped.  Rondell Rawlins and his gang are suspected of killing 23 people in two recent village massacres.  Rawlins has also been linked to the assassination of the former Agriculture Minister.

The raid took place near the gang’s hideout in a dense jungle area near the border with Suriname.  One gang member was killed and three police officers were injured, but Rawlins and about five other men escaped the shootout.  The dead gang member has not yet been identified.

Police found a diary that allegedly shows that Rawlins planned and executed recent killings.  Tents, mattresses, medical supplies, clothing, a Bible, a cell phone, and other media items were also left behind.

For more information, please see:
CaribWorldNews – Guyana: Fine Man Eludes Army Trap – 9 June 2008
AP – Gang led by Guyana’s No.1 fugitive escapes raid; 1 suspect killed, documents seized – 8 June 2008

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WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Julio Cesar Lopez-Pena was one of the principal deputies of the Norte Valle Cartel in Colombia.  He was tried and found guilty in December of conspiring to import $100 million worth of cocaine via speed boats into the United States. 

He organized at least three the trafficking of loads of cocaine by paying a member of the Autodefenses Unidas de Colombia to transport the cocaine through AUC territory.  Thousands of kilograms of cocaine were involved in Lopez-Pena’s trafficking ring.

Lopez-Pena has been known to use violence to expedite trafficking attempts.  He has been connected to the murder of a rival trafficker in Colombia.

Lopez-Pena was extradited to the United States and has now been ordered to forfeit $100 million in addition to his sentence.

For more information, please see:

AP- Sentencing in NY for member of Colombian drug cartel – 3 June 2008
Department of Justice – Violent Colombian Drug Kingpin Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Importing Thousands of Kilograms of Cocaine into the US from Colombia – 3 June 2008
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CARACAS, Venezuela- Hugo Chavez has now changed his position regarding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  Chavez, well-known for his support for FARC, has now called on the guerilla group to call of its war on the Colombian government.

Chavez had asked the international community to grant political recognition to FARC, which has been called a terrorist group by Colombia and the United States.  However now, Chavez urged FARC members to make peace and unilaterally free hostages rather than negotiating as was done earlier this year.

In recent months, FARC has lost considerable top-ranked leaders.  Venezuelan relations with bordering Colombia have been rocky at best.  Therefore, Chavez’s rationale for the public attitude change is hard to read.  Regardless, Colombian officials have praised the declaration from Chavez which came out on Monday.

For more information, please see:
La Plaza – Hugo Chavez tells FARC guerrillas to free hostages – 10 June 2008
HEARST (South American Bureau) – Venezuela cheers Chavez call for FARC to make peace – 9 June 2008

Chavez: Spy Law Will Be Rewritten; Colombia Captures Venezuelan Running Guns to FARC; Fujimori Trial Back on Schedule After Surgery

By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – A proposed law that would have punished citizens with up to four years in prison for not cooperating with intelligence officers will be rewritten, President Hugo Chavez said Saturday.

The law – widely criticized by human rights groups – required citizens to act as informants if authorities believe they had information on national security threats.  The law was compared to the U.S. Patriot Act, as authorities were allowed to monitor suspects’ phone calls and emails without court permission.  Under Venezuela’s law, authorities can withhold evidence from defense lawyers, if it declared to be in the interest of national security.

Chavez told supporters Saturday that the laws would soon be amended to protect civil rights.

Thousands came out to protest this law, as well as a separate government move to bar opposition candidates from standing for election.  Protestors believe the government is cracking down on non-supporters.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Chavez agrees to change ‘spy’ law – 8 June 2008

AP – Chavez backtracks on Venezuelan spy law – 8 June 2008

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BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombian officials have arrested a Venezuelan national guard officer who was trying to deliver assault rifle ammunition to Marxist rebels, the BBC reported today.  The officer, along with three others, was supposedly captured in the province of Vichada, near the Venezuelan border.

Colombia has accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of supporting Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, relying on computer data seized in a raid that allegedly shows Mr. Chavez was personally involved in the financing and supplying of arms to the rebels in Colombia.

Manuel Agudo, the arrested officer, was helping to carry 40,000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition – to be sold to FARC – with another Venezuelan and two Colombians, Attorney General Mario Iguaran said

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Colombia ‘holds Venezuelan guard’ – 8 June 2008

Bloomberg News – Captured FARC Gun-Runner Carried Venezuelan ID, EFE Reports – 7 June 2008

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LIMA, Peru – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is now recovering from a surgery that removed a cancerous lesion from his tongue, his doctor said Saturday.

The surgery put Fujimori’s trial for human rights abuses on hold for a week.  Fujimori was president of Peru from 1990 to 2000, and is facing up to 30 years in prison on charges of ordering massacres in the early 1990’s that took the lives of 25 people.

The trial will resume on June 11th.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Surgery puts Fujimori trial on hold for one week – 8 June 2008

MSNBC (AP) – Fujimori’s cancerous lesion removed – 7 June 2008