Retired Colombian army colonel Guillermo Armando Gordillo confessed to the Fiscalía (attorney general) his participation in the slaying of eight people, including three children, at the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on Feb. 21, 2005. The Fiscalía said Col. Gordillo was in command of the Bolívar Company, Vélez Battalion, 17th Brigade, which was carrying out a counterinsurgency operation code-named "Fénix" in the area. The massacre was carried out by a "joint command" of Col. Gordillo's troops and paramilitaries, the Fiscalía found. (Radio Caracol, Aug. 2; El Tiempo, Bogotá, Aug. 1)

Five years ago we were told the Justice Department had a "short list" of suspects in the 2001 anthrax attacks, with indications of a sinister intersection of high-level military research and the neo-Nazi ultra-right. Now we learn the name of the man the government was apparently ready to indict—when it it is too late to learn anything more useful from him. From AP via the New York Times, Aug. 1:

Raúl Hasbún, alias Pedro Bonito, a banana plantation owner turned paramilitary chieftain, gave preliminary testimony in Medellín about his participation in several massacres, including against the Peace Community [of San José de Apartadó]. Massacres were a practice to ensure control of perceived guerrilla-controlled areas, and were seen as a mean to do business in the Urabá region. In his preliminary testimony on July 23, Hasbún implicated the former Army Fourth Brigade commander, Gen. Alfonso Manosalva Flórez, and said paramilitary meetings occurred at the brigade headquarters. [La FM, Medellín; Semana, Bogotá, July 24]

Two more Colombian paramilitary commanders pleaded guilty July 29 in US federal court to drug conspiracy charges. Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, entered their pleas before US District Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami. Under a plea agreement, Vanoy Murillo faces up to 19 years and Zuluaga Lindo more than 17 years in prison, as well as up to $4 million each in fines. The Bush administration agreed not to seek life sentences as a precondition of their extradition.

No, it's not a football match. Our July issue featured the story "Shake Djibouti: Eritrea Crisis Destabilizes Imperialism's Horn of Africa Beachhead" by Sarkis Pogossian, on the brief war between the two states in June. Pogossian writes: "While Eritrea increasingly poses itself as an anti-imperialist vanguard in the region, much smaller Djibouti remains a de facto Western protectorate, hosting both French and US military forces for policing the region. Despite a halt in the fighting, the crisis has not been resolved—and France has already jumped into the fray." Our July Exit Poll was: "Are you rooting for Eritrea or Djibouti?" We received the following responses:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogger Monica Guzman writes that local voices are calling for the Seattle Critical Mass to be banned following a violent incident at the last ride. For a study in contrasts, let's compare corporate and alternative media accounts of the affair. First this, from AP again via the Post-Intelligencer, July 27:

A glimmer of hope that this has, at least, sparked an outcry—thanks to a tourist with a video-camera, and YouTube. From the New York Times, July 29:

Officer Investigated in Toppling of Cyclist
A New York City police officer was stripped of his gun and badge on Monday after an amateur video surfaced on the Internet showing him pushing a bicyclist to the ground in Times Square during a group ride on Friday evening.

On July 27 voters in Mexico's Federal District (DF, Mexico City) and nine states were scheduled to vote in a non-binding referendum on President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa's proposals to allow more involvement the state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), by local and foreign private companies. Voters were to answer yes or no to two questions: "1) Currently the exploitation, transport, distribution and refining of hydrocarbons are exclusively activities of the government. Do you agree or not that private companies should now be able to participate in these activities? 2) In general, do you agree or not that the initiatives currently being debated in Congress relating to energy reform should be approved?"