Margarito Montes Parra, leader of the General Popular Worker and Campesino Union (UGOCP), was assassinated Oct. 30—together with 14 family members and comrades, including his wife and two children—when their small convoy was ambushed by gunmen near Cajeme, Sonora. The Red Cross said 18 were injured in the attack, which took place at Los Alamitos ranch on the Hornos-Tesopaco highway.

Judge Oscar Magi of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Milan Nov. 4 convicted 23 former CIA agents for the 2003 kidnapping and rendition of Egyptian terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. The nearly three-year trial, which was delayed many times, is the first in the world involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights. Former Milan CIA station chief Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to eight years in prison, while 22 other Americans were sentenced to five years. Magi acquitted three other Americans, finding diplomatic immunity, and five Italian operatives, due to Italy's withholding of evidence because of national security issues.

In a letter sent to the US State Department Nov. 4, ousted President Manuel Zelaya asked the Obama administration why, after pressing for his reinstatement, it now says it will recognize upcoming Honduran elections even if he isn't returned to power first. The letter calls upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to clarify to the Honduran people if the position condemning the coup d'etat has been changed or modified." The request came after Washington's top envoy to Latin America, Thomas Shannon, told CNN en Espanol that Washington will recognize the Nov. 29 elections even if the Honduran Congress votes against returning Zelaya to power.

On Nov. 1 Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales expressed optimism about an agreement his representatives signed with the country's de facto government on Oct. 30 to end a political crisis that began with a military coup on June 28. At the same time, he warned against possible "manipulation" by de facto president Roberto Micheletti. "[W]e need to stay alert until compliance [with the accord] is accomplished," he told the Venezuela-based TeleSUR television network.

There is little question that the US was the main force behind the Oct. 30 agreement between the de facto Honduran government and representatives of deposed president Manuel Zeleya. Talks to end the crisis were deadlocked as of Oct. 23, after 16 days of negotiations. A delegation from the US headed by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon joined the talks in Tegucigalpa on Oct. 28, and an agreement was signed just two days later.

The International Tribunal on Freedom of Association, a new body investigating violations of the right to unionize, held its opening sessions on Oct. 26 and 26 in Mexico City. Created by more than 30 Mexican and foreign civil society organizations, the tribunal includes 16 authors, academics and labor and human rights activists from eight different countries. They heard testimony and received documents from 16 cases brought by trade unions alleging that the Mexican government had violated International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87, on freedom of association and the right to organize, and Convention 98, on the right to collective bargaining.

On Oct. 13 the United Nations (UN) Security Council approved a one-year extension of the mandate for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a 9,000-member military and police force that has occupied Haiti under Brazilian leadership since June 2004. The main change in the mandate is a slight reduction in the number of soldiers from 7,000 a 6,940, with the number of police agents increasing from 2,000 to 2,211. (Adital, Oct. 15)

The US Department of Justice announced Nov. 1 that Mexico's extradition of 11 fugitives to the United States the previous day has brought the number of extraditions this year to a record 100. The individuals face charges ranging from conspiracy to distribute and distribution of narcotics, to money laundering, molestation, and murder.