Mexico formally protested use of tear gas by the US Border Patrol, the Exterior Secretariat sending a letter to the US Embassy requesting a probe of an incident last month in which Cristian Saldana, 15, was struck in the nose by a gas canister after he reportedly threw stones at Border Patrol agents near Tijuana. "Launching tear gas does not contribute in any way to a climate of understanding and collaboration," an Exterior Secretariat statement said Jan. 31, calling the practice "unacceptable."

In a "megamarcha" against the dropping of trade barriers under the terms of NAFTA, thousands of small farmers filled the streets of Mexico City's historic district Jan. 31. A caravan of 100 tractors that traveled 2,000 kilometers from Ciudad Juarez was joined by caravans from Querétaro, Pachuca, Toluca and Cuernavaca, organized by the National Association of Campesino Enterprises (ANEC). Marchers demanded the renegotiation of NAFTA, under the slogan "Without corn there is no country, and not without beans either" (Sin maíz no hay país y sin frijol tampoco). (El Financiero, Feb. 1; Cronica de Hoy, Jan. 30)

Mexico's federal Public Security Secretariat (SSP) announced the detention of 13 "delinquents" at Rancho San Isidro, in San Andrés Larráinzar, a highland municipality in conflicted Chiapas state Jan. 30. The SSP said 45 stolen vehicles were confiscated, as well as two firearms and an "arsenal" of ten home-made bombs. (La Jornada, Jan. 31) Meanwhile, the Good Government Junta "Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas delante del Mundo," governing body of the Zapatista rebels for the Highland region, issued a statement protesting deprivation of water to Zapatista followers in Zinacantán municipality. Citing lack of action by the state or federal governments, the statement said Zapatista authorities would "directly resolve" the problem and restore water to Sokón hamlet. It blamed the caciques (political bosses) of Nachig hamlet for diverting the water, calling them "priístas-perredistas"—meaning they have collaborated with both parties that have held power in the state and municipality, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). (La Jornada, Jan. 28)

On Jan. 25, seven adherents of the People's Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT) from the central Mexican village of San Salvador Atenco were liberated from the Mexico State prison at Molino de Flores, after a federal judge cleared them of charges of kidnapping and attacking communications infrastructure. They had been in prison since their arrest in violent confrontations with the police in May 2006. (La Jornada, Jan. 26) Charges were also dropped against 53 other FPDT followers who had been freed on bail. (Uno Mas Uno, Jan. 25) A collective of "Zapatista lawyers" announced plans to bring criminal charges against Judge Jaime Maldonado, for having "arbitrarily" ordered the 164 FPDT followers imprisoned. (La Jornada, Jan. 27)

The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a reported assault on two officers at the disputed Culbertson Land Tract quarry near Deseronto, which is under occupation by Mohawk protesters. Sgt. Kristine Rae, spokesperson for Eastern Region OPP headquarters, said the assault occurred during a visit to the occupied site by members of the OPP's Major Event Liaison Team.

A Brazilian judge banned Rio de Janeiro's Unidos do Viradouro samba school from parading in the upcoming carnival with a float depicting victims of the Holocaust and a Hitler figure. "Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred, any kind of racism and clear trivialization of barbaric and unjustified acts against minorities," Judge Juliana Kalichszteim said as she issued her injunction. The injunction came after a lawsuit by the Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ).

South African police raided the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, which was serving as a sanctuary for some 1,000 Zimbabwean refugees, arresting scores of suspected "illegal immigrants" Jan. 31. Bishop Paul Verryn accused the police of using excessive force on refugees and church workers in the midnight raid: "They did not have a warrant," Verryn told SABC. "They have pushed me around and treated us despicably." He said the refugees "ran in terror" as police "came military-style and...turned the church upside-down... They have kicked down doors, they've broken a window, they assaulted people. They manhandled me. I mean, they just treated us as if we're animals." He called the police action "appalling" and "despicable."

United Nations "peacekeepers" in the disputed African territory of Western Sahara have vandalized ancient rock paintings, a UN official told the London Times. The paper published photos of the paintings at the archaeological site of Lajuad, some 6,000 years old—defaced with spray paint. Julian Harston, the UN official responsible for Western Sahara, said he was shocked by the vandalism, and that funds would be sought from UNESCO to remove the graffiti. UN peacekeepers were deployed in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire between Moroccan occupation forces and the Polisario Front independence movement.