The Collective Security Treaty Organization, an alliance of former Soviet republics led by Russia, held an emergency meeting in Moscow June 15 on whether to deploy its rapid-reaction forces to conflicted Kyrgyzstan. CSTO secretary general Nikolai Bordyuzha cautioned that "these measures need to be employed after careful consideration and, most importantly, in an integrated manner." Another senior Russian official, Nikolai Patrushev, said the meeting "did not rule out the use of any means that the CSTO has in its potential, depending on how the situation evolves in Kyrgyzstan." He said a plan had been drafted for approval by the presidents of the member nations.

Violence in Mexico claimed the lives of 15 federal police officers and 29 prison inmates in three separate incidents June 14. Twelve officers were killed when police returning from patrol in four pickups were ambushed by gunmen in the city of Zitácuaro, Michoacán. Several assailants were also killed or wounded, but officials did not provide exact figures. Gunmen also killed three federal police agents on patrol in Ciudad Juárez, and wounded one more. At Aguaruto prison in Culiacán, Sinaloa, 21 inmates were shot to death and three guards were wounded when a group of prisoners attacked members of a rival gang within the facility. Hours later, eight more prisoners were stabbed to death by other inmates. An AK-47 assault rifle and two large-caliber handguns were confiscated. (CNN, AP, LAHT, June 15)

Bill Conroy writes for the Narcosphere, June 12:

A special operations task force under the command of the Pentagon is currently in place south of the border providing advice and training to the Mexican Army in gathering intelligence, infiltrating and, as needed, taking direct action against narco-trafficking organizations, claims a former CIA asset who has a long history in the covert operations theater.

Saeed Torabian, a board member of the Tehran bus drivers' union (Vahed Syndicate), was arrested June 9 by Iranian security forces and is being held incommunicado, whereabouts unknown. His home was ransacked, and his computer and cell phone confiscated in the raid. Two other members of the Syndicate's board of directors, Mansoor Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, are imprisoned at Rajayee Shahr prison in Karaj and Evin Prison in Tehran. The International Transport Workers' Federation is calling for Torabian's immediate release. (ITF press release, June 10)

Venezuela's government June 11 praised a decision by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in a case over the 2007 expropriation of ExxonMobil assets by the government of Hugo Chávez. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's energy minister and the president of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), said the previous day's decision should force ExxonMobil to "drastically reduce" the $10 billion it has been seeking.

Narco-violence claimed 39 lives in two northern Mexico states June 11. In Chihuahua, up to 30 gunmen stormed a drug rehabilitation center in the state capital Chihuahua City near midnight and executed 19 men and wounded four others. The victims, all reportedly addicts being treated by the clinic, were forced to lie face down in a hallway and were then shot, witnesses told local media. Rehab centers are reportedly being used as fronts by drug gangs who recruit "mules" among the recovering addicts, and have been a target in the warfare between rival cartels. One day earlier, unidentified assailants killed one man and wounded another at a rehab center in Ciudad Juárez. More than 60 people have died in mass shootings at Mexican rehab clinics in a little less than two years.

At least 23 people have been killed and more than 300 injured in ongoing clashes that broke out June 10 in Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest city, between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek residents. Mobs of armed men have reportedly torched Uzbek neighborhoods. A state of emergency has been declared and armored vehicles are patrolling the city's streets. With security forces overwhelmed, Kyrgyzstan's interim government has appealed to retired police and army officers to travel to the southern city to help restore order. "Exchanges of fire are continuing and you can hear them everywhere, several buildings are in flames, people are frightened," a government spokesman told AFP. (AP, AFP, June 12)

A group of schoolchildren marked the lead-up to International Children's Day in Erbil June 9 with a protest against Iranian shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan. The children gathered outside the city's Iranian consulate to chant "No, no to war. Yes, yes to peace" and "Stop the shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan." They then handed in a letter to the consular officials, reading: "We as the children of Kurdistan want the immediate cessation of the Iranian artillery shelling of Kurdish villages of South Kurdistan. The artillery shelling kills people, scars children, displaces villagers. That is why we urge the Iranian regime to stop the bombardment of South Kurdistan border areas. In solidarity with the children, affected by this bombardment of Iranian artillery shelling, we, the Children of Erbil will not be going to celebrate the 'Children's International Day'." (Kurdish Media, June 9)