On June 23 the Mexican daily La Jornada reported that according to "judicial sources" the Mexican Attorney General's Office (PGR) has information that the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) has maintained ties for at least three years with the "Gulf Cartel" drug trafficking operation and "Los Zetas"—a gang of hired assassins working for the cartels—to help in the smuggling of Cuban and Central American immigrants through Mexican territory to the US. CANF, an influential organization of rightwing Cuban Americans in Florida, has friendly relations with US politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Eight people were arrested June 29 as some 1,500 marched in downtown Tokyo to protest against the G8 summit that opens next week in Hokkaido. Chanting slogans including "Smash the summit," protesters clashed with riot police who maintained an intimidating presence around the march. (Kyodo News, June 29)

Neo-Nazis fired tear gas at the rally following the June 28 Queer Parade at Svobody Square in the Czech city of Brno, sparking a 45-minute melee. Paramedics treated around ten people. Police said 15 anti-gay protesters were arrested. As the neo-Nazis fled police down the streets, they stopped to pelt a group of about five Romanies with tomatoes. (CTK, June 28)

Armed Islamic Courts Union fighters assaulted at "cultural boogie" at El-Ghelle village, Balad district, some 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu in Somalia late June 29, residents said. The fighters reportedly opened fire on a circle where drummers, singers and musicians were playing for a traditional dance. A man and women were wounded, while other participants fled barefooted to bush. In their six months in power, the ICU banned music and repeatedly raided wedding parties in Mogadishu. (Shabelle Media Network, Mogadishu, AllAfrica.com, June 30)

Our June issue featured the story "Enough With the Hugo Chávez Hero Worship" by Nikolas Kozloff, in which he calls out the Venezuelan leader for supporting Beijing's position on Tibet and dismissing the protests against the Olympic Torch as an example of the US "empire" "going against China." Kozloff writes that it is "time for left to repudiate Chávez over China—while supporting the overall goals of Bolivarian Revolution." Our June Exit Poll was: "Should the left repudiate Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez over his public backing of China's crackdown in Tibet—while still supporting the overall goals of the Bolivarian Revolution?" We received the following responses:

Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba was held by US immigration authorities at New York's JFK airport June 27, to be interrogated about her alleged ties to the FARC—despite her diplomatic visa. "When I left customs, I was retained for two and a half hours," she told Colombia's Caracol Radio. "I think they wanted to send me back to Colombia. All my papers were photocopied. I had brought denunciations to deliver to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. They photocopied everything, my phones and personal belongings too."

In a national broadcast June 27, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe called for a referendum on holding a new presidential election after the country's Supreme Court of Justice called for a review of the constitutional change that allowed him to run for a second term in 2006. Uribe said Congress should quickly pass legislation he will submit to approve the referendum, but didn't say whether the election would be for a new full four-year term or to legitimize his remaining two years.

A large percentage of Djibouti's population could face food shortages due to drought, rising prices, declining earnings, and high levels of livestock deaths, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net). Some 130,000, including 50,000 in Djibouti's capital, require emergency food assistance, the network found. FEWS Net also noted that the recent border conflict with Eritrea could aggravate the situation. "Approximately 1,000 people have been displaced in and around the conflict zone, and as many as 22,000 could be displaced, should the violence worsen," it stated in an alert.