A secret US diplomatic cable released by the WikiLeaks group and published by the Spanish daily El País on Jan. 23 reveals that the main Mexican intelligence agency, the Center for Investigations and National Security (CISEN), "has allowed USG [US government] officers to interview foreign nationals detained at Mexican immigration detention centers dispersed around the country for potential CT [counterterrorist] information of interest." The May 16, 2008 cable—described as a "scene setter for the visit to Mexico of FBI deputy director John S. Pistole"—also reported that "senior migration officials" in Mexico "are sympathetic to our concerns" and are working with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency to locate terrorism suspects. El País noted that "Mexico is a very nationalist country where the intervention of third parties causes political and social frictions."

Hundreds of students, residents, artists, religious people and activists from some 70 organizations started a fast the morning of Jan. 29 in Ciudad Juárez, in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, to mark the first anniversary of the Jan. 30, 2010 massacre of 15 youths in the city's Villas de Salvárcar neighborhood. "No more blood!" "No more impunity!" and "No more feminicides!" were among the slogans of the commemoration. Later in the morning a group of the fasters marched to Puerto de Anapra, near Sunland Park, New México, where they and US residents held a ceremony in memory of the victims. The demonstrators were divided by a metal fence the US government has built at the border and watched over by US Border Patrol agents.

On Jan. 28 Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced its new schedule for the long-delayed runoffs for the presidency and for many legislative seats. The CEP set Feb. 2 as the day when it would announce the results of the first round, held on Nov. 28; campaigning is to take place from Feb. 17 to March 18; and the actual vote is planned for Mar. 20, with the preliminary results to be announced on March 31. The second round was supposed to be held on Jan. 16 but was delayed by disputes over the results of the chaotic first round.

Even before a major earthquake hit Port-au-Prince in January 2010, the US embassy planned for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)--an international force then numbering about 9,000 soldiers and police--to remain in the country through 2013, according to a confidential US diplomatic cable released by the WikiLeaks group and published by the Spanish daily El País on Jan. 28.

While media attention remains focused on the return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier to Haiti, disputes over the Nov. 28 elections continue. A week after a technical group from the Organization of American States (OAS) recommended a runoff between presidential candidates Mirlande Hyppolite Manigat (Coalition of National Progressive Democrats, RDNP) and popular singer Michel Martelly ("Sweet Micky," Peasant Response), Haitian president René Préval still had not agreed to have his Unity party's candidate, Jude Célestin, cede the number two spot on the ballot to Martelly.

On Jan. 21 former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier (1971-1986) gave his first press conference since arriving unexpectedly in Port-au-Prince the evening of Jan. 16 after 25 years of exile in France. Speaking at a private residence in Montagne Noire, on the eastern edge of the capital, Duvalier expressed his "profound sorrow" on behalf of his "compatriots who legitimately claim that they were victims" of his regime, along with his "sympathy" for his "millions of supporters," especially the "thousands" who were "cravenly assassinated... roasted... their houses, their goods pillaged, uprooted."

On Jan. 21 United Nations high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay called on the Mexican government to determine whether there was complicity by the military, the police or other officials in the mass kidnapping of some 40 Central American immigrants by an armed gang in the southern state of Oaxaca on Dec. 16. The incident, which brought protests from Mexican human rights activists, took place as some 250 immigrants were riding on a freight train operated by Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuántepec, a company owned by the federal government. Mexican police, soldiers and immigration officers detained some of the immigrants but let the rest proceed. The train operator then tried to extort money from the immigrants but wasn't satisfied with the amount they offered. A short while later, an armed group entered the train, robbed and beat the immigrants, and abducted about 40. The whereabouts of the victims are still unknown. (New York Times, Jan. 22)

Some 7,000 Mexicans have participated in a program through which the Colombian government trains Mexican soldiers and police in techniques for fighting drug cartels, according to an article in the Jan. 22 Washington Post. The administration of US president Barack Obama is encouraging this effort, and the US is paying part of the costs. Washington's share so far is $800,000, according to the article.