Despite the supposed normalization of Honduras since the transfer of power to President Porfirio Lobo last month, grave human rights abuses targeting opponents of last year's coup d'etat continue unabated. On Feb. 15, Julio Funes Benítez, a member of the water and sewage workers union SITRASANAA and a local leader of the anti-coup National Resistance Front, was shot dead in the city of Comayagüela by four unknown men in a taxi.

Right-wing gubernatorial candidate José Pérez Restrepo in Colombia's southeastern Guaviare department was wounded in the leg and three of his bodyguards killed Feb. 14 when presumed FARC guerillas attacked his election caravan in an apparent kidnapping attempt. Media reports said the politician was taken captive by the rebels, but freed when police and soldiers came to the scene. Two police officers were also killed in the shootout.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview with the New York Times Feb. 14 that he hopes to hold a civilian trial for accused 9-11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but that a military tribunal must be considered in the wake of mounting public and political pressure. According to the interview, Holder prefers a civilian trial to ensure "swift, sure justice," but has not ruled out the option of a military commission in Guantánamo Bay. When asked who would make the ultimate decision on where the trial will take place, Holder said, "I think that I make the final call, but if the president is not happy with that final call, he has the ability to reverse it." Holder also stated that he hopes the Obama administration will be able to announce a venue for the 9-11 trial within the next three weeks.

Two NATO rockets aimed at Taliban insurgents in Helmand province missed their target Feb. 14, killing 12 civilians sheltering in their home. The incident occurred in Nad Ali, where British troops are operating. A UK Ministry of Defence representative said the rockets were a "US responsibility." The new anti-Taliban offensive Operation Moshtarak (meaning "together" in the Dari language) involves 15,000 troops, mostly US, British and Afghan, targeting the areas of Nad Ali and Marjah. (The Guardian, AOL News, BBC News, Feb. 14)

India is investigating whether Pakistan was behind the Feb. 13 attack on the German Bakery in Pune, Maharashtra, that killed nine just ahead of peace talks with Islamabad scheduled for next week. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to cancel the peace talks. "Terrorism and talks can't coexist," said BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley. The bakery was said to be frequented by foreigners from the city's Chabad House, an Orthodox Jewish cultural and religious center—and also from the local Osho Ashram, founded by the late Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. (FT, WP, Feb. 15; Eurasia Review, Feb. 14)

Hundreds of Ciudad Juárez residents held a "March of Anger" Feb. 13 against President Felipe Calderón's army crackdown that has failed to curb rampant gang killings in the border city. Marchers say the presence of 6,000 troops has only escalated violence in the city, which has seen more than 4,300 drug-related murders since troops were deployed two years ago. The march was led by mothers and family members of some of the 13 youths killed in a Jan. 31 massacre, as well as the mother of one of those charged in the crime. "The army's presence is anti-constitutional and violates citizens' rights," National Front Against Repression leader Javier Contreras told the march. "That's why we're asking them to withdraw." (Reuters, AFP, Feb. 14; El Economista, Mexico, Feb. 13)

Bolivian President Evo Morales plans to put the coca back in cola with a new coca-infused carbonated energy drink slyly dubbed Coca Colla. While the product's packaging will be red with a swoosh like Coca-Cola, the name "Colla" is not just a pun, but also references the traditional word for Bolivia's Aymara people in the Quechua tongue. Officials say the drink will hit the market in April. Production will either be run by the government, the coca growers, or as a joint cooperative between the two. Bolivia already markets coca toothpaste, sweets and other legal products.

President Evo Morales signed a decree creating the Bolivian Space Agency at a cabinet meeting Feb. 10, with a mission of building and launching a satellite with Chinese help. The third-generation DFH-4 satellite is to named after Túpac Katari, an Aymara indigenous leader who fought the Spanish before being martyred in 1781. Public Works Minister Walter Delgadillo told a press conference the government will initially invest $1 million in the program, and expects China to meet the rest of the projected $300 million budget. He said Chinese technicians have arrived in the country to direct the program. Construction of the satellite is to begin in March. (The Guardian, Feb. 12; AP, Feb. 10)