The AP this morning provides a more detailed picture of the situation in Alta Verapaz as a state of siege in the Guatemalan province enters into its third day. What’s perhaps most striking about the description is the near total absence of the state in the region prior to Sunday’s declaration. “Gangs roamed the streets with assault rifles and armored vehicles, attacking whomever they pleased and abducting women who caught their eye,” the news service writes. “Shootouts became so common residents couldn't tell gunfire from holiday fireworks.” Local leaders, the AP says, have been asking the state to step in for two years against traffickers who are believed to be linked to los Zetas in Mexico.
On Monday, the Guatemalan military announced the arrest of a handful of suspected Zeta affiliates. EFE reports on four individuals picked up on the way to the provincial capital of Coban, significant weaponry in-hand. In the town of Libertad, meanwhile, “hooded assailants” raided an establishment Sunday night killing seven, including at least one police officer. Prensa Libre says a total of ten individuals have thus far been arrested while security forces also took control of a landing strip being used for drug flights into Alta Verapaz. Prensa Libre also notes that the Guatemalan Congress will be amending portions of the “state of siege” declaration before giving it final approval on Wednesday, out of concern that certain articles threaten freedom of expression.
But a “state of siege” hardly seems like a viable long-term solution. For one, the condition of Alta Verapaz may not be all-together unique. Further north, in Guatemala’s Peten region, the BBC says the “cradle of Mayan civilization” is also looking ever more like a “haven for criminal activities” – human smuggling, illegal logging, and drug trafficking among them. Currently defending the 5000 sq km area of rainforest that is the Peten are just 250 young soldiers operating in pick-up trucks. Add to that Guatemala’s on-going struggle with poverty and a depressed coffee economy and the picture becomes even gloomier. President Alvaro Colom this week argued the solution to organized crime could only be a regional one:
“When President Calderon (of Mexico) is successful, they come here. If we manage to achieve success, they will go to Honduras, but sooner or later, if we don't hit them all together, they will come back.”
Perhaps the one bright spot amidst this week’s worries: the UN General Assembly’s extension of the CICIG’s mandate in Guatemala through 2013.
In Mexico:
· Suggestions at the LA Times that the Zetas may have been responsible for the massive explosion of an oil pipeline in a small town between Mexico City and Puebla. Authorities suspect a “clandestine tap” set off the explosion. The method has been adopted by the Zetas in other Mexican locations to siphon off lucrative crude from state-controlled pipelines. Twenty-eight individuals have been confirmed dead because of the most recent blast. Meanwhile, in Juarez, the AP reports that authorities have confirmed the murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz’s brother-in-law. Escobedo Ortiz, an anti-crime activist, was gunned down while protesting her daughter’s unresolved murder in Chihuahua city over the weekend.
· Also in Mexico, the major US papers are reporting on the release of former PAN presidential candidate Diego Fernández de Cevallos. “El Jefe Diego” was abducted last May at his ranch in Querétaro. Upon his release in Mexico City Monday, Fernández said little about his months in captivity – other than that he had forgiven his captors. The Wall Street Journal suggests his kidnapping was the work of a cell called the “Network for Global Transformation,” perhaps linked to the “People’s Revolutionary Army” (EPR). The EPR, however, has thus far denied that it was responsible for Fernández’s kidnapping.
· Human Rights Watch has released a new report detailing on-going violence and impunity in post-coup Honduras. Entitled “After the Coup,” the report appears to mostly re-document the findings of IACHR and OHCHR missions to the country while Roberto Micheletti exercised power. It adds verification of 47 acts of violence or intimidation against journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists, which appear to have been politically motivated. Among those 47 cases are at least 18 murders for which impunity has become the norm. HRW’s recommendations include extending recent budget increases for the Human Rights Unit in Honduras beyond 2011; strengthening judicial independence by implementing a 2001 constitutional reform that “provided for the creation of the Council of the Judiciary (Consejo de la Judicatura), an independent body that would take over many of the Court’s disciplinary functions;” and creating an international investigatory commission in Honduras, a la Guatemala’s CICIG. More from BBC Mundo.
· The Miami Herald reports on the unclear path forward in Haiti as officials suggest an announcement about election results will be delayed for some time.
· BBC Mundo reports on the Argentine government’s decision to prohibit security forces from using firearms, rubber bullets, and other weapons during times of social protest. According to the government, the new measure is part of its attempt to prevent the “criminalization social protest.” The opposition says security forces will be left “defenseless.” Meanwhile, the LA Times reports on the political landscape in Argentina after the passing of Nestor Kirchner, saying the popular first gentleman’s death has “spurred an unexpected tidal wave of popular support that could resuscitate [Cristina] Fernandez's political fortunes.” The president’s approval ratings have shot up to around 65% (they were at about 35% before her husband’s death) and 44% of Argentines last month said they would re-elect Fernandez de Kirchner, “more than enough to win office under Argentine election rules.”
· El País reports on the passage of a new telecommunications bill in Venezuela – legislation some could lead to new restrictions on freedom of expression on the internet. Venezuelanalysis has more on other pieces of legislation passed by the outgoing National Assembly, including a law which is to make banking a “public service.” Meanwhile, a group of 30 human rights organizations issued a public statement Monday rejecting the recently passed “Enabling Law,” and maintaining it was part of the government’s attempt to “criminalize” the work of NGOs and human rights groups “as never before.”
· More on Lula’s last days from Mercopress, highlighting the Brazilian leader’s call for an expansion of Mercosur to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. He also reiterated calls for Paraguay to approve Venezuela’s entry into the bloc as full member – a vote which remains pending.
· In an editorial, the Washington Post says Congress should move on free trade deals with Colombia and Panama.
· And finally, a piece by Colombian journalist Juanita Leon at Nieman Reports on La Silla Vacía, the investigative political blog she and others set up a year and a half ago. She calls the site a Colombian experiment in “sustainable independent journalism” – working against the hyper-concentration of the media ownership in the country while at once aiming to remain relevant as a “mainstream publication.” The power of La Silla Vacía, she argues, has come through its ability to “gather expert opinion, inside information, and high-level analysis” that has helped to reframe the terms of political debate and news coverage in Colombia.
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