On Sept. 3 US secretary of state Hillary Clinton held a meeting in Washington, DC with Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, who was removed from office on June 28 in a military coup. Shortly after the meeting, the State Department announced that the US was taking three steps that would send a "very clear message" to the de facto regime: the cancellation of all non-humanitarian aid, the revocation of the visas of members of the de facto government, and a warning that the US would not recognize the results of the scheduled Nov. 29 general elections if they are held under the current conditions.

The Canadian mining company Goldcorp Inc is continuing to press charges against five indigenous Mam in connection with a June 12 incident in which a pickup truck and an exploration drill rig were set on fire at the Marlin gold mine in San Miguel Ixtahuacán municipality in the western Guatemalan department of San Marcos. An arraignment was scheduled for the San Marcos courts in the city of San Marcos on Sept. 7. According to the Canadian-based Rights Action organization, 98% of crimes go unpunished in Guatemala.

On Sept. 4 Ecuadorian judge Juan Evangelista Núñez recused himself from presiding over a $27 billion lawsuit brought by indigenous Ecuadorians against the US-based Chevron Corporation for environmental damage by the Texaco oil company, which Chevron acquired in 2001. Núñez's decision came as several branches of the Ecuadorian government announced investigations stemming from videos Chevron released on Aug. 31. The company claims the videos show the judge meeting with parties to the suit and saying that he had already made up his mind to rule against Chevron. The company also claims the videos contained evidence that bribes were discussed.

Peru's indigenous alliance AIDESEP brought suit before the country's Constitutional Tribunal to halt an oil concession in a vast area of the northern Amazon designated as Block 67. The project is owned by Anglo-French company Perenco, who have pledged to invest $2 billion in the find. But AIDESEP charges that the project could have catastrophic consequences for uncontacted tribes living in the concession area. Perenco, chaired by Oxford University graduate Francois Perrodo, denies that uncontacted tribes exist inside Block 67. Perenco was given approval to start work in Block 67 just thirteen days after the "Amazon's Tiananmen," when armed police violently broke up an indigenous protest near the town of Bagua on June 5, leaving at least 30 dead. (Survival International, Sept 7)

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan Sept. 7 accused troops from the US Army's 10th Mountain Division of storming through the charity's hospital in central Wardak province, breaking down doors and tying up staff in a search for militants. "This is simply not acceptable," said the charity's country director, Anders Fange, adding the the troops entered the female ward in violation of local customs. The US military says it is investigating. (AP, CNN, Sept. 7)

Iran's parliament Sept. 3 approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's choice for the new defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi—wanted in Argentina in the bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85 people and wounded some 300 more 15 years ago. Vahidi, who led an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force at the time of the attack, is accused of "being a key participant in the planning, and of having made the decision to go ahead with the attack." Interpol issued a warrant for him in 2007. Israel and Argentina have condemned his promotion to the Iranian cabinet as an affront to the victims.

In a joint statement issued Sept. 4, local authorities and social organizations in Peru's conflicted Apurímac and Ene River Valley (VRAE) rejected the government's proposal to declare the area a "combat zone." Signatories, including the VRAE Federation of Agricultural Producers, called upon the government to seek peace by promoting social justice, saying declaration of a "combat zone" would only hurt badly needed invesment in the remote and rugged area. The statement also expressed solidarity with the families of soldiers kiled in recent Sendero Luminoso attacks in the VRAE. (La Republica, Sept. 4)

Guatemalan community leader and environmental advocate Sofía Vidal Osorio was slain by unknown gunmen Aug. 17 at Morales, Izabal department. Vidal served as the elected leader of the community of La Ceiba, and was coordinator of the Inter-Comunitarian Council for the Sierra Caral Special Protected Area, an advocacy group seeking creation of a reserve to save the threatened forests of the small mountain range overlooking Lake Izabal. She had three times testified before Guatemala's congress in favor of declaring the protected area. Guatemala's Foundation for Eco-Development and Conservation (FUNDAECO) is calling on the government to declare the reserve in honor of Vidal, and take measures to end the state of lawlessness in the region. (National Council of Protected Areas—CONAP, Guatemala, Aug. 21)