Prosecutors in Guadalajara, Mexico, say they have filed charges against two suspected members of a gang blamed for what the press has dubbed the "clown jewels" caper. The gang—some members dressed in clown costumes—burst into a jewelry store July 26 and made off with at least $900,000 worth of loot. The clown costumes were later found abandoned in a car. The Jalisco state prosecutor's office says two of six suspects have been caught and charged while a third has been detained pending investigation. One of the suspects reportedly confessed to being the one of the men behind the masks. (AP, Oct. 9)

A group of independent UN experts expressed concern Oct. 9 over the increased use of mercenaries in Honduras since the June coup d'etat. The panel said it received reports that 40 former Colombian paramilitary veterans had been hired to protect properties and individuals in Honduras since the June 28 ouster of President Jose Manuel Zelaya. The panel also heard reports that 120 mercenaries from various Latin American countries had been contracted to support the de facto regime.

Supporters of deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya warned the de facto government that a crackdown on opposition media could derail talks scheduled to resume this week aimed at resolving the country's political crisis. "It is a really appalling issue, something right out of a dictatorship," said Rafael Alegria, a leader of protests against the coup-installed regime.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Oct. 8 demanded that his interior and defense ministers investigate how an imprisoned guerilla leader escaped in the northeastern city of Arauca. Gustavo Anibal Giraldo Quinchia AKA "Pablito" was freed the previous morning when a group of gunmen attacked a convoy transporting him to the local airport for a court hearing. One guard was killed and two injured in the incident. Giraldo is a high-ranking leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN) who opposed peace talks with the Colombian government. He was arrested in January 2008. "There is no explanation for this escape," Uribe told reporters. "There are signs of corruption around this that are very troubling."

Bolivia's President Evo Morales denied Oct. 10 that his government is engaged in a regional arms race, insisting the purchase of six Chinese military jets is only for drug enforcement. "This purchase of aircraft does not threaten anyone, they're not for war," Morales said at a ceremony commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the Bolivian Air Force. "The aircraft purchase is aimed at the fight against drug trafficking and not any arms race."

Some 1,000 workers at Shougang Hierro, Peru's only iron ore producer, have gone on strike demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The workers held a 10-day strike in July, which ended when the company indicated that it would raise wages. The Chinese-owned company did not meet their demands to increase their pay by $1.91 per day, and the workers have now returned to an indefinite strike.

A renowned Buddhist teacher has protested the eviction of his followers from a monastery in southern Vietnam's Lam Dong province, and a group of Vietnamese intellectuals have issued a petition to support them. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese-born Zen master who popularized Buddhism in the West, wrote a letter last week to President Nguyen Minh Triet criticizing the police eviction of nearly 400 from Bat Nha monastery. His followers say a mob including undercover agents descended on the monastery Sept. 27, damaged buildings and forced the devotees out, beating some with sticks.

Just a day after India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram declared that Naxalite violence will not disrupt the Oct. 13 elections in Maharashtra state, the guerillas struck Gadchiroli district Oct. 8, killing 17 police officers. A 300-strong band of Naxals attacked a 40-man patrol of police and commandos of the elite anti-Naxal force C-60, just a kilometer from the Lahiri police station. A pitched battle ensued for four hours.