Led by the National Confederation of Artisenal Miners (CONAMI), small-scale independent gold miners led strikes and protests across several regions of Peru last week. The southern rainforest region of Madre de Dios was most affected, with regional capital Puerto Maldonado virtually shut down for several days following initiation of the paro (civil strike) on March 5. Thousands of miners filled the streets, wearing helmets and plastic ponchos color-coordinated to represent their geographic zone. Other social movements observed the paro in solidarity, and most businesses shut down. The region's estimated 18,000 artisenal miners—the vast majority of them "informal"—are demanding the aborgation of recent presidential decrees mandating that only legally recognized mining activity will be permitted. Some 3,000 miners are currently camped out in Puerto Maldonado as they await the arrival of a cabinet-level commission led by Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal and Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Merino to establish a dialogue on "formalization" of the artisenal miners. Luis Otzuka, leader of the Madre de Dios Regional Artisenal Mining Federation (FEDEMIN), said the strike will be maintained until a solution is reached.

On March 5, a special intelligence unit of Peru's National Police announced the arrest of Walter Díaz Vega AKA "Freddy" or "Percy"—said to be the successor of the Shining Path leader "Comrade Artemio," himself captured weeks earlier. Comrade Freddy was apprehended in the hamlet of Alto Alianza, José Crespo y Castillo district, Leoncio Prado province, Huánuco region. The hamlet is in the Magdalena Valley, an arm of the Upper Huallaga Valley, one of two zones of the country where a state of emergency remains in effect due to Shining Path activity. Comrade Freddy, apparently betrayed by infiltrators, was transfered to the National Anti-Terrorism Directorate (DIRCOTE) in Lima for interrogation. The National Police hailed the arrest as a "mortal blow" against the Shining Path.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Feb. 28 defended the US-backed war on the drug cartels, despite the growing violence in Mexico and Central America. On a five-day tour of the region, Napolitano insisted in a joint press conference with Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire that the US and Mexico would maintain "a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs.... It's a different type of crime and it's a different type of plague, but that's also why it is so important that we act not only bi-nationally, but in a regional way, to go after the supply of illegal narcotics."

In an official report, Paraguay's Department of Indigenous Affairs (INDI) confirmed this week that an uncontacted tribe is living on lands in the northern Chaco region owned by a controversial ranching company. Signs of the isolated Ayoreo tribe have been found on lands of the Brazilian firm River Plate. The investigation shows clear signs of the presence of the so-called "hiding tribe"—detailing footprints, holes dug to capture tortoises, and broken branches. INDI warned that the tribe is being "forced to flee to other areas to avoid being discovered." The evidence will have consequences for cattle ranching companies River Plate and BBC SA, which have already been accused of putting the lives of the Ayoreo at risk. Satellite images from 2011 revealed their destruction of almost 4,000 hectares of forest inhabited by uncontacted bands, and led to the companies being charged with illegal deforestation.

The UN representative to Colombia said Feb. 27 the country's victims law has "holes" because threats and violence against displaced campesinos seeking to reclaim land are impeding successful implementation. The law, officially know as Law 1448, allows victims of violence committed by guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and state security forces after 1985 to claim financial compensation. It also allows for displaced people to reclaim land that was stolen or obtained through intimidation and force by illegal armed groups. Todd Howland said, "the risk and vulnerability of leaders in the process of land restitution are extremely high, given the criminal interests in properties subject to restitution."

Colombia's FARC guerilla army announced Feb. 26 its intention to release all 10 captive members of the security forces, and to abandon kidnapping of civilians for extortion purposes. The announcement was made in a statement published on the website of ANNCOL, a news organization with alleged ties to the rebel group. The FARC announced "our decision to add the remaining four to the announced decision to release six prisoners of war" and that "from today on we ban the practice" of "the retention of people...in order to finance our struggle." The guerrilla group announced that it will continue its armed struggle, but to "resort to other forms of funding and political pressure."

Millions of workers walked off their jobs across India on Feb. 28, with the telecoms, transport sector and postal service most affected. The "all-India" 24-hour general strike was most universally observed in the southern state of Kerala, which remains effectively paralyzed. The Congress-led government in the state has enforced a dies non (no work—no pay) order against the public-sector strikers. Among other demands, strikers want the government to contain inflation, provide universal social security for workers in the vast "informal" sector, and to stop selling off stakes in state-run companies. The action constitutes the 14th general strike since India liberalized its economy with major reforms in 1991. (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Feb. 28)

Some 5,000 Malaysians staged a protest against a refinery for rare earth elements being built by the Australian mining company Lynas in Kuantan, Pahang state, Feb. 26. The protest—dubbed Green Gathering 2.0—featured green-clad activists beating drums as well as opposition MPs. Many protesters wore green T-shirts with the words "Stop Lynas," and some shouted "Destroy Lynas!" Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his alliance will seek an emergency motion in parliament to urge the government to cancel the project, and pledged that the opposition would scrap the plant if it won elections expected by June. "We don't want [this project] to sacrifice our culture and the safety of the children," he told the crowd. The Lynas website was also hacked, with a Malaysian flag and the slogan "Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia" replacing the corporate logo.