Nicaragua:

1. Miguel D’Escoto Brockman, former Sandinista foreign minister, sharp US critic, was elected (6/4/08) to be the next President of the UN General Assembly (CLASP, 6/08).
2. President Daniel Ortega and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have proposed the formation of a joint military force for Nicaragua, Venezuela, Bolivia, Dominica and Cuba to defend against outside intervention (CLASP, 2/08).

Guantanamo: The US Supreme Court decided (6/12/08) for the third time to uphold the rights of detainees, the right to habeas corpus (Center for Constitutional Rights).
Migrant workers: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Burger King Corp. announced plans to work together to improve wages and working conditions for the farmworkers who harvest tomatoes for Burger King in Florida. (CIW Online Hdqtrs, 5/23/08).
Colombia:

1. The US House of Representatives voted 224-195 to delay voting on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, likely killing it for this year (AP 4/11/08).
2. The coca crop has increased 27% over the past year despite the US Plan Colombia.
3. After Colombia’s 3/1/08 attack on the rebel FARC camp in Ecuador, Colombia leaked supposed FARC e-mails to the press which linked FARC with Venezuela and Ecuador. Interpol investigated (invited by Colombia) and reports that the eight FARC computers showed 48,055 files had been manipulated (Venezuela Solidarity Network).

Haiti: The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (ijdh) and its affiliate, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI)  took to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica the case of the Raboteau Massacre victims. The Court awarded $430,000 to the victims’ families who, in turn, donated 10% to the BAI for further work (ijdh.org).

Ecuador: Indigenous groups have sued Chevron for $16 billion for environmental damages for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into rivers, according to a court-appointed Ecuadoran geological engineer.

Guatemalan Genocide Case: Spanish and German courts have asserted universal jurisdiction over cases first brought by Nobel Peace Prize winter, Rigoberta Menchu (Human Rights Action Service, 1/08).

Venezuela:

1. A British court has overturned the freeze on $12 billion in Venezuela assets requested by ExxonMobil and ordered the corporation to pay $767,000 in Venezuela’s legal expenses (Christian Science Monitor [CSM]3/19/08).
2. The Venezuela Solidarity Network (VSN) held a successful symposium in Washington 4/18-20/08 with over 200 participants (VSN@afgj.org).
3. President Chavez ordered the nationalization of the cement industry (CSM 4/16/08).
4. The Washington-based CATO Institute has awarded a $500,000 prize to a Venezuelan law student who poses a potent challenge to President Chavez.

Mexico:

1. Mexico’s Human Rights Commission reports that the military was involved in serious human rights violations including rape, torture and homicide while executing counter-narcotics operations in 2007 (Amnesty International magazine, Spring 08).
2. Mexico may refuse the Merida Initiative, a Bush proposal for $1.6 billion in US weapons ostensibly to fight the “Drug War” (Mexico Solidarity Network 5/27/08).
3. Under a new amendment signed by President Calderon, Mexico’s judicial system now allows public trials and a presumption of innocence. (CSM 6/19/08.)

Bolivia: President Evo Morales has handed over 38 land titles to the Guarani Indians (CSM 1/30/08).

El Salvador: One hundred international organizations have joined a coalition of 40 Salvadoran groups calling for the investigation of escalating political killings, including the 5/2 assassination of activist Hector Antonio Ventura Vasquez and 15 other politically-related deaths (CLASP, Spring 08).

Chile: A Chilean judge has ordered the arrest of 100 former secret police and soldiers over human rights abuses under Pinochet’s military rule 1973-1990 (CLASP, Spring 08).

Trade: On 4/21-22 the leaders of Mexico, Canada and the US met for the 4th secret Summit on the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)/the “NAFTA superhighway” (Campaign for Labor Rights, 202-550-7025, www.clrlabor.org).