Guatemalan police forces, together with army troops and DEA agents, destroyed 319 million opium plants and 250,000 marijuana plants, together valued at an estimated $780 million, in a four-day operation last month in Ixiguan and Tajumulco municipalities of San Marcos department, near the border with Mexico. The National Civil Police said San Marcos is considered to be a "sanctuary" of opium cultivation. (EFE, Feb. 5)

Guatemalan authorities March 2 arrested three top anti-narcotics officials—days before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to visit the Central American nation to discuss Drug War strategy. Baltázar Gómez Barrios, chief of the National Civil Police (PNC), was detained along with "Drug Czar" Nelly Judith Bonilla and her advisor Fernando Carrillo at the Division of Anti-Narcotics Analysis and Information (DAIA). They are accused of running a corruption ring linked to a gun-battle last April between traffickers and police over a 700-kilo consignment of confiscated cocaine in Amatitlán. Five DAIA agents were killed in the gun-fight, and 13 have been since been arrested in connection with it. (NYT, FT,* Siglo XX1, Guatemala, March 3; El Periodico, Guatemala, March 2)

Following an "extraordinary assembly" Feb. 26 in Ambato, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) issued a call for a nationwide "uprising" to protest the government's development policies and press demands for a "pluri-national state." The statement charged that the government has "not modified the colonial State and continues building the neoliberal capitalist model." CONAIE president Marlon Santi said "CONAIE has terminated the dialogue with the national government, because the process of dialogue has produced no results."

The China-Peru Free Trade Agreement took effect March 1, calling for phasing out tariffs on 90% of goods exchanged between the two nations, with an emphasis on Chinese industrial and manufactured goods and Peruvian minerals and agricultural goods. With bilateral trade valued at $7.5 billion in 2008—up 24% from 2007—China has emerged as Peru's second-biggest trade partner, according to Beijing's Ministry of Commerce. China also has free trade pacts with Pakistan, New Zealand, Singapore and the ASEAN bloc. (Xinhua, Global Times, China, March 1)

The new Honduran government of President Porfirio Lobo brought fresh corruption charges last week against the exiled Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted as president by last June's coup d'etat. Prosecutors charged Zelaya with diverting $1.5 million in welfare funds to his campaign for a referendum on reforming the constitution. Zelaya said in a statement from the Dominican Republic that the charges "seek personal revenge and worsen the political persecution against me, forgetting national reconciliation." (AP, Feb. 27)

The Chilean military is attempting to restore order in the country's second city, Concepción, amid looting in the wake of the devastating Feb. 27 earthquake. Troops have fired tear gas at "looters" attempting to flee with food and other goods from wrecked shops. A dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force in the city, where a major rescue effort is under way. Regional military commander Guillermo Ramirez issued a warning to would-be looters. "I would advise criminals not to mess with the armed forces. Our response will be severe, but within the context of the law," he said.

Seven Palestinians were detained as clashes erupted with Israeli forces at al-Aqsa Mosque compound Feb. 28, with discord reported throughout the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police stormed the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, after Palestinian youths barricaded inside and threw stones at visitors they believed to be radical Jewish settlers. The protesters staged the occupation in response to rumors that militant Jews planned to take over the compound during the Purim holiday that began that day. They were also protesting Israel's recent decision to add the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem to its list of national heritage sites.

Three months ago we noted widespread rumors that Israel was preparing imminent air-strikes on Iran—particularly predicted for around the New Year—and asked our readers in an Exit Poll: "Will Israel attack Iran within the next three months?" We received 99 votes. The results follow: