US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Feb. 28 defended the US-backed war on the drug cartels, despite the growing violence in Mexico and Central America. On a five-day tour of the region, Napolitano insisted in a joint press conference with Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire that the US and Mexico would maintain "a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs.... It's a different type of crime and it's a different type of plague, but that's also why it is so important that we act not only bi-nationally, but in a regional way, to go after the supply of illegal narcotics."

In an official report, Paraguay's Department of Indigenous Affairs (INDI) confirmed this week that an uncontacted tribe is living on lands in the northern Chaco region owned by a controversial ranching company. Signs of the isolated Ayoreo tribe have been found on lands of the Brazilian firm River Plate. The investigation shows clear signs of the presence of the so-called "hiding tribe"—detailing footprints, holes dug to capture tortoises, and broken branches. INDI warned that the tribe is being "forced to flee to other areas to avoid being discovered." The evidence will have consequences for cattle ranching companies River Plate and BBC SA, which have already been accused of putting the lives of the Ayoreo at risk. Satellite images from 2011 revealed their destruction of almost 4,000 hectares of forest inhabited by uncontacted bands, and led to the companies being charged with illegal deforestation.

The UN representative to Colombia said Feb. 27 the country's victims law has "holes" because threats and violence against displaced campesinos seeking to reclaim land are impeding successful implementation. The law, officially know as Law 1448, allows victims of violence committed by guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and state security forces after 1985 to claim financial compensation. It also allows for displaced people to reclaim land that was stolen or obtained through intimidation and force by illegal armed groups. Todd Howland said, "the risk and vulnerability of leaders in the process of land restitution are extremely high, given the criminal interests in properties subject to restitution."

Colombia's FARC guerilla army announced Feb. 26 its intention to release all 10 captive members of the security forces, and to abandon kidnapping of civilians for extortion purposes. The announcement was made in a statement published on the website of ANNCOL, a news organization with alleged ties to the rebel group. The FARC announced "our decision to add the remaining four to the announced decision to release six prisoners of war" and that "from today on we ban the practice" of "the retention of people...in order to finance our struggle." The guerrilla group announced that it will continue its armed struggle, but to "resort to other forms of funding and political pressure."

Millions of workers walked off their jobs across India on Feb. 28, with the telecoms, transport sector and postal service most affected. The "all-India" 24-hour general strike was most universally observed in the southern state of Kerala, which remains effectively paralyzed. The Congress-led government in the state has enforced a dies non (no work—no pay) order against the public-sector strikers. Among other demands, strikers want the government to contain inflation, provide universal social security for workers in the vast "informal" sector, and to stop selling off stakes in state-run companies. The action constitutes the 14th general strike since India liberalized its economy with major reforms in 1991. (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Feb. 28)

Under pressure from UNESCO, Israel has agreed to remove the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb—two Jewish holy sites on the West Bank—from its list of "National Heritage Sites." This of course immediately sparked a backlash from Israel's religious right, with Science and Technology Minister Rabbi Professor Daniel Hershkowitz calling the omission "like denying our elementary heritage." (The Algemeiner, Feb. 1) Following recent clashes at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, Palestinian protesters also vented rage at the Rachel's Tomb site Feb. 21, hurling stones and prompting closure of the compound. Jewish visitors were evacuated by the Border Guard. (YNet, Feb. 21)

The two most annoying icons of the rad left, WikiLeaks and Anonymous, team up to target the equally annoying Stratfor. Their joint press release of Feb. 24 headlines that Dow Chemical paid the "strategic intelligence" firm to spy on satire group Yes Men and grassroots activists seeking justice in the Bhopal disaster. The small print says they sent someone around to attend the Yes Men's public appearances. The coup wins WikiLeaks more gushing alterno-coverage, while Max Fisher in The Atlantic scoffs that WikiLeaks has fallen for Stratfor's "marketing campaign," and that nobody has taken them seriously for years. But, predictably, nobody is talking about WikiLeaks' shameful silence on charges of complicity with grave human rights abuses in Belarus, the country dubbed "Europe's last dictatorship."

Haitian prime minister Garry Conille submitted a letter of resignation the morning of Feb. 24 as rumors grew of tension between him and President Michel Martelly ("Sweet Micky"). The prime minister was said to have become more and more isolated in the government; according to several sources no other government ministers appeared at a cabinet meeting he called the day before. Conille only served four months. After rejecting two previous choices, Parliament approved Conille's appointment in October, and he took office on Oct. 18. At the time Martelly said that he and his prime minister were"a winning pair of dice."