Category: Latin America: Week in Review

Colombia’s ELN Releases Kidnapped Oil Workers

Today in Latin America Top Story — Colombia’s ELN guerrillas on Tuesday released 11 oil workers that had been kidnapped at the end of last month, according to the International Red Cross. […] Read More >

Colombia: 49 Human Rights Activists Murdered in 2011

Today in Latin America Top Story — The Colombian NGO Somos Defensores reported that 49 human rights activists were murdered in Colombia last year, a 36 percent increase over 2010. Somos Defensores, […] Read More >

Miami Student Daniela Pelaez Discusses Deportation, DREAM Act

Today in Latin America Top Story— Daniela Pelaez, an 18 year-old undocumented immigrant living in Miami, said she was “overwhelmed” by support from thousands of people who protested her deportation order […] Read More >

Amnesty Denied For Former Guatemalan Dictator Facing Genocide Charges

Today in Latin America Top Story — Guatemalan Judge Miguel Angel Gálvez ruled Thursday that former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt could not receive amnesty from prosecution for war crimes. Ríos Montt, […] Read More >

Colombia: Eleven Kidnapped Oil Workers Still Missing

Today in Latin America Top Story — Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón announced Wednesday that at least  eleven oil workers remained missing in northeastern Colombia after being kidnapped by an […] Read More >

Ecuador’s Correa Issues Pardons Amid Free Speech Concerns

Today in Latin America Top Story— Facing international accusations that his government was cracking down on press freedoms, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa announced Monday that he would issue pardons in two […] Read More >

Colombia’s FARC Says It Will Release Hostages, End Ransom Kidnappings

Today in Latin America Top Story — The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced on its website Sunday that it would no longer engage in ransom kidnappings to fund […] Read More >

Peru Tries to Block Spain’s Claim On Shipwrecked Treasure

Today in Latin America Top Story — The Peruvian government on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block Spain from receiving a shipment of valuable coins discovered in a Spanish […] Read More >

Buenos Aires Train Crash Kills 50; Argentina Declares Period of Mourning

Today in Latin America Top Story — Fifty  people died when a commuter train crashed into a barrier in a Buenos Aires train station on Wednesday morning, leading Argentine President Cristina […] Read More >

Bolivia: Gang May Have Killed 69 Minibus Passengers

Today in Latin America Top Story — At least 69 people may have been murdered in the Bolivian city of El Alto after they boarded minibuses operated by a group […] Read More >