Mexican federal police Nov. 1 announced the arrest of the leader of the Gulf Cartel for the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, TX. The police statement said Antonio Galarza AKA "El Amarillo" was apprehended in a car stop in the northern city of Monterrey, and charged with weapons violations and money laundering.

Víctor Gerardo Garay Cadena, acting commander of Mexico's Federal Preventative Police (PFP), stepped down Oct. 31 under cloud of scandal, after one of his top lieutenants was arrested on charges of providing protection to the Sinaloa Cartel. "I am resigning because in the bloody fight against organized crime, it is our duty to strengthen institutions, which means it is essential to eliminate any shadows of doubt regarding me," Garay said.

President Evo Morales, speaking before a cheering crowd of coca-growers, announced Nov. 1 that he is suspending "until further notice" the operations of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Bolivia, accusing the agency of spying and encouraging anti-government protests. He did not say whether DEA staff would expelled from the country, as demanded by coca-growers.

Earlier this year, we asked if oil would reach $200 per barrel by year's end. Short of a sudden and dramatic crisis in the Middle East, that now seems impossible. The rising prices themselves put some long-overdue breaks on consumption—and now the economic crunch is continuing that trend even as prices fall again. From the Houston Chronicle, Oct. 30:

More than 20 people were killed in two apparent US missile strikes in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border Oct. 31. An al-Qaeda leader identified as Abu Kasha or Abu Akash, previously believed to be in Iraq, was reported killed in the attack near the village of Mirali, North Waziristan. Two hours later, a second set of missiles hit a village in South Waziristan, killing seven, including an unspecified number of foreign fighters, Pakistani officials said. US military authorities had no immediate comment.

The Palestine People's Party (PPP) denounced the latest Israeli decision to demolish five Palestinian homes in the town of Bruqin in the northern West Bank Oct. 31. Senior PPP member Isam Baker called the decision "part of the ethnic cleansing policy that is carried out by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories."

The European Campaign to Break the Siege on Gaza is preparing to send a massive international parliamentarian delegation to Gaza by sea. The delegation had arranged a solidarity visit to Gaza, but was denied entry to the area by Egypt via the Rafah crossing in mid October. Lord Nadthir Ahmad, head of the planned delegation said the group "feels it is their moral duty to break the siege that is imposed over the past three years." (Ma'an News Agency, Oct. 31)

A Syrian court sentenced 12 prominent dissidents to two and a half years each in prison Oct. 29 for calling for democratic reforms and an end to the Baath Party's monopoly on power. The dissidents, 11 men and a woman, were arrested last year after holding a large meeting to revive a movement that called for freedom of expression and a new constitution in Syria. The defendants, who are among Syria's leading intellectuals and opposition figures, have been imprisoned since their arrest. The charges against them include "weakening national morale." (Reuters, Oct. 29)