Colombia is mourning after the tragic landslide that took place in Mocoa, capital of Putumayo department, during the night of March 31, when 17 neighborhoods were flooded with mud and rocks, and five were completely buried. The disaster resulted as the Mocoa, Mulato and Sangoyaco rivers burst their banks amid torrential rains. At least 238 people are reported dead, with rescue teams still digging through rubble. With no electricity in the stricken city, hospitals running short on blood and medicines to attend to the hundreds of injured survivors. President Juan Manuel Santos has activated the National Risk Management System, and authorized the "declaration of calamity" issued by Putumayo department.

Anti-terrorism laws that were passed by Senegal's National Assembly in October, are "draconian" and could "restrict freedom of expression and roll back the rule of law in Senegal," according to a report (PDF) released April 3 by Amnesty International. The laws in question were passed as part of the government's efforts to deal with the rise of terrorism in the region, including Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Nigeria and Mali. Recognizing the country's need to address terrorism, AI claims the vagueness of the laws are problematic, as violations such as "insults" and affronts to "morality" could be interpreted in a way that suppresses dissident opinions. Other provisions of the new laws criticized by AI include those designed to prevent "defamation of the President of the Republic," "the dissemination of false news," and acts likely to "cause serious political unrest."

Paraguay's Senate on March 31 approved a constitutional amendment lifting the one-term rule for presidents. Put in place by Paraguay's 1992 Constitution following long years of dictatorship, the current rules limit the president to one five-year term. President Horacio Cartes is seeking to lift the one-term limit, a measure supported in the Senate by 25 of 45 legislators. The vote will now go to the Chamber of Deputies, where 44 of the 80 members belong to the president's Colorado Party. If approved there, the vote will go to a national referendum. In the interim, protests have erupted outside Congress, with at least one protestor reported killed and the Congressional building burned.

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice reversed a prior ruling to shut down the National Assembly on April 2. The court effectively dissolved the legislature in its decision just four days earlier. The Supreme Court and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro both support the Socialist Party, while the opposition party leads the legislature. Protests broke out after the original decision last week, with protesters accusing the Socialist Party of creating a "dictatorship." The international community also voiced opposition. A special state security committee persuaded the court to reverse their decision.

A lawmaker in the Philippines filed impeachment proceedings March 16 against President Rodrigo Duterte over killings carried out in the name of his war on drugs. Rep. Gary Alejano accused the president of constitutional violations, betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes. "The most important thing here is the state policy of killing of drug suspects. The killings of fellow Filipinos were done without due process," Alejano said, according to ABS-CBN news service. "More than 8,000 have died. This is disturbing. We should not wait for the deaths to reach 20,000, 30,000, or 50,000 before we stand up and fight."

At least three guards were killed when riot police were sent in to storm the Etapa 2 juvenile detention center outside Guatemala City, where members of the notorious Barrio 18 narco-gang had seized cell-blocks and taken hostages March 20. Riot troops were ordered to take the facility despite desperate pleas from guards being held hostage. Latin American Herald Tribune reports that before the bloody climax, hostages had shouted from windows, urging authorities to negotiate with their captors. "We are begging and the government doesn't want to do anything," one reportedly cried. "They give no attention to our lives."

CounterVortex editor and chief blogger Bill Weinberg will be on assignment overseas and away from Internet access for the next 10 days, so the Daily Report will be on hiatus and there will be no headlines e-mailing next weekend. The Daily Report should be active again Friday April 7, and the mailing should resume Monday April 10. If you wish to be added to the weekly e-list, please be in touch. Your address will never be shared with any third parties, and you will receive only one mailing per week. Meanwhile, please consider supporting our ongoing work. Remember: CounterVortex receives no foundation sponsorship; we depend entirely on our readers to keep us going.

Conservative enemies of Colombia's peace process are dealt some handsome propaganda assistance by the fact that as the long civil war with the FARC guerillas has wound down, coca leaf production in the country has been soaring. Fears were enflamed by a March 12 Wall Street Journal report quoting US State Department officials to the effect that Colombia now has an unprecedented 180,000 hectares under coca cultivation, with the supposed potential to produce an annual 700 tons cocaine. The figures, soon to be officially released by the State Department, are double those for 2013. (El Tiempo, March 13; Semana, March 4)