Honduran police detained 13 leaders of the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguán (MUCA) the night of Feb. 2 at a checkpoint in Arizona, in the northern department of Atlántida, according to the Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH). The leaders, who were returning from Tegucigalpa, were reportedly taken to the city of Tela; one leader, Juan Angel Rodríguez, was turned over to the Public Ministry, allegedly because of a warrant for his arrest. (COPINH, Feb. 2; OFRANEH, Feb. 3)

On Feb. 1 the Montreal-based Osisko Mining Corporation announced that it and the government of the northwestern Argentine province of La Rioja would suspend exploration for a proposed gold mine at the Nevados de Famatina mountain as long as "there is no social license for exploration and development in the area." The announcement followed weeks of protests against the open-pit mining project by local residents, who selectively blocked access to the area for company employees and officials of the provincial government. Osisko and the provincial government said they were now preparing a "program of information and consultation with the community" to win local support, but assemblies formed by area residents have voted to continue the blockade. "[N]o mega-mining company or project has a social license in our territory," the assemblies declared. (Página 12, Argentina, Feb. 2)

At least one indigenous protester was killed on the morning of Feb. 5 as Panamanian riot police cleared roadblocks that members of the Ngöbe-Buglé group had maintained for six days in the western provinces of Chiriquí and Veraguas. Protest leaders identified the victim as Jerónimo Montezuma; they said he died of a gunshot wound in the chest in San Félix, Chiriquí. The roadblocks were set up in the latest round in an ongoing dispute between the Ngöbe-Buglé, Panama's largest indigenous group, and the government of rightwing president Ricardo Martinelli over environmental protections in indigenous territories.

For the past week, members of Ciudad Juárez's 2,000-strong police force have been staying in hotel and safe-houses supplied by the city government in response to threats from narco-gangs to kill a police officer every day. The officers have been ordered to stay away from their homes for three months, and supplying them with housing will cost the city some $2 million. Mayor Hector Murguia announced the move in response to a demand from the "New Generation" cartel that police chief Julian Leyzoala step down—and a pledge to murder a member of his force each day until he does so. A total of 11 officers have already been killed this year.

Hundreds of independent small-scale gold miners marched on the Venezuelan city of Bolívar Feb. 5, to protest the militarization of Manaima district, where security forces have been sent in to crack down on unlicensed operations following a violent clash in the area last month. Some 400 soldiers were dispatched to the community of La Paragua after six people were killed in what authorities called fighting between rival gangs for control of a gold mine called Nueva Bulla Jan. 9. Thousands of unlicensed miners in the remote jungle area have been unable to work due to the heavy military presence. Venezuela's newly appointed defense minister, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, said the miners are "victims of exploitation by mafias." But miner spokesman José Lucart countered: "All of Manaima is militarized and we want to be left to work. We are ready to work together with the organs that oversee the exploitation of gold, to arrive at a sustainable mining. We are seeking a meeting with the Ministry of Mines, as well as the Ministry of Defense...to coordinate an exit satisfactory to both parties."

Colombia's armed forces are scouring the country's southwest region in the hopes of capturing FARC guerrilla leaders following a of audacious and deadly attacks. President Juan Manuel Santos called the FARC "hypocrites" playing a "double game" for committing "terrorist acts" weeks after raising the prospect of peace talks. Following a security council meeting in the Pacific coast town of Tumaco—where a bomb planted in a tricycle killed nine people and wounded 76 outside a police station on Feb. 2—Santos said such violence "rejects everyone and it moves us away from any possibility of peace." A 3-year-old girl, a 19-year-old woman and a police commander were among the six people killed in in another Feb. 2 attack, on a police post in the town of Villa Rica, Cauca department. Santos offered a reward of $668,000 for the capture of FARC commander "Rambo," believed to be responsible for the new attacks.

On Jan 29, former militants of the Alfaro Vive Carajo (AVC) guerilla group turned over to Ecuador's President Rafael Correa the swords of revered 19th century presidents Eloy Alfaro and Pedro J. Montero, stolen by the guerillas from a Guayaquil museum in 1983. The handover took place at a ceremony commemorating the centenary of Alfaro's death, at his birthplace Montecristi in coastal Manabí province. The AVC said in a statement signed by 39 militants that after holding the swords in their custody for 28 years, they decided to return them to deepen the "revolutionary democratic process."

The Kichwa Confederation of Ecuador (ECUARUNARI) announced a national mobilization that will converge on Quito from points around the country next month to oppose what leaders called President Rafael Correa's policies in favor of the resource industries. The "Great Pluriethnic March for Water, Life and Dignity of the People of Ecuador" is set to depart March 8 from the southeastern town of Zamora, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. (See map.) ECUARUNARI president Delfín Tenesaca said the organization "rejects the entrance into the territories of [indigenous] nationalities of mineral companies, without consulting anybody and disrespecting the constitution." He called for participation from other provinces of the country affected by mineral and oil interests. The effort has the support of Salvador Quishpe, prefect of Zamora-Chinchipe province,* who stated, "We call upon all social organizations in the country to unite in this great march of reclamation... It cannot be that 'Correismo' tries to silence the Ecuadoran people." (Servindi, Feb. 1)