Ricardo Soberón, the anti-drug chief who last year briefly suspended coca eradication in Peru, resigned under pressure from the administration of President Ollanta Humala Jan. 10. The Council of Ministers (cabinet) appointed Carmen Masías Claux, a psychologist who is an advocate of eradication, to replace Soberón as head of the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (DEVIDA). The Council of Ministers is now led by the man who was interior minister at the time of Soberón's suspension of the program, Oscar Valdes—who publicly disagreed with the suspension, and ordered the program's resumption within a week.

In what Iran called a "terrorist act," nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed when an unidentified motorcyclist attached a magnetic explosive to his car Jan. 10. Rosha was a department supervisor at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. He is the third man identified as a nuclear scientist to be killed in Iran in a mysterious explosion in the past two years. A fourth survived an assassination attempt. The survivor, Fereydoon Abbasi, is now the head Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. In a statement quoted by Reuters, the organization said: "America and Israel's heinous act will not change the course of the Iranian nation." Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

On Jan. 10, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced that it has moved the hands of its famous "Doomsday Clock" to five minutes to midnight. The last time the Doomsday Clock moved was in January 2010, when it was pushed back one minute from five to six minutes before midnight. In a statement, BAS noted: "Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed. For that reason, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007." (See Doomsday Clock Timeline.)

The State Department on Jan. 9 officially expelled a Venezuelan consul general over an alleged plot involving Venezuela, Iran and Cuba to launch a cyber-attack against Washington. The department said it gave Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela's consul general in Miami, 24 hours to leave the United States after declaring her persona non grata—the most serious form of censure a country can apply to a foreign diplomat. The move comes after recent claims on the US-based Spanish-language TV network Univision that Acosta was involved in plans three years ago, with a group of diplomats based in Mexico to attack the computer systems of the White House, FBI, CIA, Pentagon, National Security Agency and several nuclear power plants. The report also claimed Acosta was seeking the aid of hackers to uncover incriminating information on US political figures, including Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Iran's former ambassador to Mexico, Mohammad Hassan Ghadir, appeared on Univision last month to deny the accusations. The network tied Acosta to Venezuela's espionage agency, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service.

A Russian naval flotilla led by an aircraft carrier docked in the Syrian port of Tartus for a six-day visit Jan. 8, in what Damascus state media hailed as a show of solidarity by Moscow. Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha visited Russian carrier Kuznetsov at the port, where Russia has a recently expanded a naval base. Russian ambassador to Syria Azamat Kulmukhametov said the visit by the Russian vessels highlighted the strong ties between the two countries, but added: "Russia is very interested in achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people in democracy and stresses the importance of implementing the comprehensive reform program." (Xinhua, Jan. 9) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile warned that Syria is heading towards civil war, and that NATO member Turkey should play a leading role in preventing this. "The situation in Syria is heading towards a religious, sectarian, racial war, and this needs to be prevented," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara. "Turkey has to take on a leadership role here, because the current situation poses a threat to Turkey." (Reuters, Jan. 9)

The Bolivian government is currently studying a bill to ban the sale of land to foreigners, Vice Minister of Land Edgar Apaza said Jan. 8. The proposal came from a social summit held in Cochabamba last month, which brought together lawmakers and representatives of popular movements. Apaza endorsed the proposed law, which would include penalties for those who attempt to disguise land ownership to skirt the ban. He stressed that Bolivia is obliged to pass such a law by Article 396 of the new constitution, which denies the acquisition of national lands by foreigners. Many of the best lands in the east and south of the country are in the hands of Brazilians and Argentines. (Prensa Latina, Jan. 7)

Following a wave of forest fires in the southern Araucania and Bio-Bio regions that left seven fire-fighters dead this week, Chile's government suggested indigenous Mapuche activists may have been responsible. Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter speculated that the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), a Mapuche group struggling to recover land from timber companies in the affected regions, set the blazes. "Behind this premeditated and criminal conduct there is activity of a terrorist nature," he said. The Mapuche Student's Federation accused Hinzpeter of conducting a "media trial" without any evidence and of trying to "delegitimize" the indigenous movement. President Sebastian Piñera has invoked a Pinochet-era "anti-terrorism" law to pursue those responsible for the fires. (Clarin, Argentina, Jan. 7; BBC News, VOA, Jan. 6)

Colombia's National Police have mobilized 500 troops as well as a team of the elite Judicial Police (DIJIN) to northern Urabá region following the declaration of an "armed strike" (paro armada) by a paramilitary group known as Los Urabeños. Gunmen left leaflets in towns throughout the region, threatening residents and business owners—warning them to honor the strike or face arson attacks. Authorities have arrested 12 armed men who were distributing the leaflets and painting threatening graffiti in the municipalities of San Pedro de Urabá, Apartadó, Uramita, Cañas Gordas y Briceño, all in Antioquia department. Despite the police presence, the streets of several local towns have been completely cleared. The strike was apparently declared in response to the slaying of an Urabeños leader named "Giovanni." (El Tiempo, Bogotá, Jan. 5)