Graduation ceremony in Pichilin, Colombia. Anna Vogt
Fragmentation and the Changing Face of LatAm Organized Crime
The shifts analyzed by this work have profound analytical and practical implications. The differences between groups (international or local, enterprise groups or contractor, territorial or trafficking) are becoming more diffuse, with multiple gray zones in which the “levels” and “tiers” are commingled. From the policy perspective, this dynamic is causing confusion and it is not clear within the State who should respond and under what strategy. In this context, the spotlight must move from the international and national dimension to specific territories: villages, cities, and neighborhoods where different dynamics and actors converge to obtain profits from legal and illegal activities, employing threats and violence as needed. The recognition of this transition is a first step to rethink the security challenges in Latin America and the necessity to find new frameworks to respond to a dynamic threat.
Mexicans returning home outnumber those immigrating to US, study shows
More Mexicans are leaving the United States than migrating into the country, marking a reversal of one of the most significant immigration trends in US history.A study published on Thursday by the Pew Research Center said a desire to reunite families is the primary reason Mexicans go home. A sluggish US recovery from the Great Recession also contributed. Meanwhile, tougher border enforcement has deterred some Mexicans from coming to the United States.
Mexico detentions of migrants up 73% in crackdown on southern border
Mexico detained 73% more migrants since the announcement of an operation to shore up security on its southern border, according to a study released on Wednesday by human rights and migrants’ advocates groups. The study found that about 168,000 migrants were detained in Mexico from July 2014 to June of this year, up from some 97,000 during the previous 12-month period. It was based on government data, case documentation from migrants’ shelters, interviews with authorities, migrants and advocates and other sources.
Head of Guatemala’s CICIG Reflects on Past Victories, Challenges Ahead
It’s diverse but it has to find ways to participate. Naturally it won’t be the whole of society, because society is not just one group. There are sectors, interests and contradictions within society, but we can surely talk of general objectives, objectives that are shared among larger segments of society, and take advantage of this as a chance to rebuild the social fabric that is barely visible here in Guatemala. There are small aspects of everyday life around which the population, the municipalities, could organize… It’s a process, of course, but it’s a process that reflects the need for citizens to show an interest in state issues, for the public to participate in political issues like public administration. In our countries we are used to issues just getting decided, but this concept is one that allows our countries to reach where they are now.
Honduras: Canadian investor in court over seizing Garifuna land
In 2007, Garifuna from the Rio Negro community were removed from Trujillo Bay after Jorgensen allegedly snapped up tracts of land illegally purchased through local agents, according to OFRANEH, the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras. The ‘porn king’ later obtained land belonging to the communities of Gualaulupe, Santa Fe, and San Antonio. One of Honduras’ chief tourism investors, Jorgensen and his company ‘Banana Coast’ have ploughed millions of dollars into the development of a cruise ship dock and an ocean-front commercial centre. Another one of Jorgensen’s companies, Life Vision Developments, has more than 1500 acres of residential and commercial real estate under development which it is selling to retirees and vacationers seeking a piece of paradise.
NGOs call for end to human rights abuses in the Latin American palm oil sector
A coalition of NGOs – including Friends of the Earth-United States, Rainforest Action Network, ActionAid USA and the Guatemala Human Rights Commission – have warned traders about human rights violations occurring in the Mesoamerican palm oil sector. In a letter sent to global commodity brokers, including Bunge, IOI, Cargill and ADM, the NGOs called for plans to be put in place to halt human right abuses and environmental damage caused by palm oil supply chains.
Dominicans of Haitian descent turned into ‘ghost citizens’, says Amnesty
The Dominican Republic has violated the human rights of tens of thousands of people by stripping several generations of citizenship, according to a scathing new report by Amnesty International. The report details decades of discriminatory practices codified into laws that have turned Haitians and their DR-born children into “ghost citizens”. These stateless people lack identity papers for work, healthcare, schooling or the right to live in either nation on the island. “With the stroke of a pen, authorities in the Dominican Republic have effectively wiped four generations of Dominicans off the map,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty’s Americas director.
Blood gold: From conflict zones in Colombia to jewelry stores in the US
Like the mayor, most people in Cauca say they will welcome an agreement. They know there is only one alternative to negotiations: more war. But they are doubtful that they will see true peace, just violence with a different face. They fear that the demobilization of the FARC will trigger another resource war for gold and drugs like the one in Bajo Cauca after the AUC disbanded. And it is a fear that is well-founded, says Cepeda, the senator, especially in Cauca, where there are powerful interests with a stake in mining. “I am completely convinced that Colombia is not going to have a tranquil transition to peace,” he says. “If there is an agreement, it will be about taking apart these territories.”
The Importance of Land for Women Confronting Patriarchy and Climate Change
The community of María Auxiliadora is an example that arises out of women’s experiences and looks to create the conditions which, as a minimum, are necessary to confront both violence against women and climate change, in a structural way. For women to have access to land, for women’s lives to matter, along with pursuing sustainable practices such as allotments, compost toilets, preserving vegetables …to paraphrase Vandana Shiva: “The most revolutionary act in current times is to grow your own food.”