Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on July 25 intervened in the public hearing of the Constitutional Court to defend the Framework for Peace, a constitutional amendment that brought about peace talks with the FARC rebels. Rights groups, including the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), challenged the amendment because it vests the congress with the discretion to decide which acts of war are applicable to the justice system. According to the CCJ and Human Rights Watch (HRW), this discretion could lead to loopholes that allow violent criminals to escape justice. Santos defended the amendment as a vital prerequisite for peace, "Our commitment to the expectations and rights of the victims is serious," Santos said. "It's not about sacrificing justice to reach peace but how to achieve peace with the most justice." The representative for the CCJ responded, "In this case the cure could end up being worse than the disease." The Constitutional Court's decision has not yet been released.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit  on July 24 ruled (PDF) that Israel cannot be listed as the place of birth on US passports for citizens born in Jerusalem. Section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (PDF) requires the State Department to list "Jerusalem, Israel," as the birthplace for US citizens born in Jerusalem if the parents request. The appeals court found that § 214 is unconstitutional, basing its decision on the executive power of recognition, affirming that only the executive has the sole power to recognize a state. This decision now requires that section of the law to be reinterpreted, as Congress does not have the power to recognize foreign states. The office of the president has never recognized any one state as having jurisdiction over the city of Jerusalem, and as such, citizens born there cannot include a country name on their passport.

A nationwide strike has been declared in Tunisia after protests over the killing of opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi July 25. The nation's UGTT trade union federation called the stoppage to protest "terrorism, violence and murders" by the Islamist government of the Ennahda party. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in several towns, after Brahmi was shot dead outside his home in Tunis. "This criminal gang has killed the free voice of Brahmi," his widow, Mbarka Brahmi, told Reuters. His sister Souhiba Brahm was even more forthright: "Ennahda killed my brother," she said. Ennahda has condemned the killing. Brahmi, a lawmaker and leader of the leftist Popular Movement, is the second opposition leader killed this year; the February assassination of Chokri Belaid also sparked a political crisis. The killing of Brahmi came on Republic Day, marking the 56th anniversary of Tunisia's independence. (Middle East Online, July 27; BBC News, July 26; Reuters, July 25)

The Penal Chamber of Peru's Supreme Court on July 21 affirmed its acquittal of imprisoned former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos of homicide charges related to the 1997 military raid on the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima after it was seized by guerillas of the now-defunct Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Two commandos, one hostage, and all 14 of the guerillas were killed in the operation, code-named "Chavín de Huantar." Two commandos who oversaw the operaiton, Nicolás Hermoza Ríos and Roberto Huamán Azcurra, were also cleared of homicide charges in the ruling. The three had been acquitted last October, but prosecutors requested a review of the earlier ruling on the basis of forensic evidence. The high court admitted that at least one of the "terrorists" (as the guerrillas are almost universally refered to in Peru's press), Eduardo Cruz Sánchez AKA "Tito," had been "executed"—shot to the head after he had already surrendered to the commandos. But the court found that it could not be determined who shot him, or if orders were given for the killing.

One year into his term, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's cultivated image of a rebooted anti-narco effort is starting to look like more of the same. Since May, he has deployed thousands of army troops and federal police to the central-western state of Michoacán, seeking to regain control of large rural areas effectively under the control of the Knights Templar narco gang. His predecessor Felipe Calderón won widespread criticism for his militarization of the "drug war," and Calderón's home state of Michoácan was a special focus. A brief lull in violence after Peña Nieto again flooded the state with troops was broken this week as presumed Knights Templar gunmen attacked federal police checkpoints on Michoacán's coastal highway, or ambushed police convoys—or fought back when the police attacked the narcos' own roadblocks. The death toll has reached 29 over the past three days.

Well, natural gas has stopped flowing from a stricken rig off the Louisiana coast, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement informs us. The rig is owned by Hercules Offshore and operating for the Walter Oil and Gas Corp, about 42 miles southwest of Grand Isle. Hercules admits Mother Nature came to the rescue, saying the well became plugged with sand and sediment, basically snuffing itself out The leak started on the morning of July 23, and the fire burned for some 14 hours. It still isn't quite out yet, by most recent reports. (CNN, AP, Times-Picayune, July 25; ENS, AP, Hercules Offshore press release, July 24)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on July 22 that the rebel group 23 March Movement (M23, see BBC backgrounder) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is receiving assistance from Rwanda despite continued human rights abuses by the M23, including rape, executions and forced recruitment of young boys. HRW based its report on interviews with former M23 fighters who have abandoned the movement. According to the report, Rwanda is permitting the M23 rebels to recruit from within Rwanda and is giving material support to the rebels, including food, uniforms, ammunition and other supplies. While a panel of UN experts reported in June that Rwanda's support for the M23 is declining, HRW asserted that the support remains significant and called upon the UN and the US to urge Rwanda to halt support to the M23.

Indefinite strikes brought coal mining operations of Alabama-based multinational Drummond Co to a halt on July 23 in the north of Colombia, putting further pressure on the country's economy amid a growing wave of labor actions. After negotiations failed between the Sintramienergetica union and Drummond over wage increases, union workers declared an indefinite end to operations. The strike threatens a halt to nearly all production in the world's fourth coal-producing nation. Two companies, Drummond and Cerrejon, account for 85% of Colombia's coal industry. If Cerrejon, whose union went on strike earlier this year, also declares a halt to operations, Colombia's GDP growth could fall significantly. President Juan Manuel Santos has said the strikes could "damage the entire world," and that "no one wins because every day that passes [there are] forgone royalties and foregone incomes that for the most part go to social investment." (Colombia Reports, July 24)