Campesinos leaders report a wave of abuses against local indigenous peasants in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz since a "state of siege" was declared there in response to the alleged presence of Los Zetas narco-network. Officially, authorities have arrested 22 "traffickers," and confiscated five small planes, 28 vehicles and 239 assault weapons. But the National Indigenous and Campesino Coordinator (CONIC) says army troops have invaded and occupied peasant villages where there has been no sign of drug trafficking.

The National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP) marched in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, Feb. 4 in solidarity with the protest movement in Egypt. Under the slogan "Down with the imperialist pharaohs of the world, long live the people's uprising in Egypt," the marchers blocked traffic on a major thoroughfare. (El Heraldo, Tegucigalpa, Feb. 4)

Ngobe indigenous protesters streamed into Panama's capital city and blocked the street in front of the Legislative Palace to protest their exclusion from an important committee hearing Jan. 24. Panama's National Assembly president had invited several environmental critics to take part in the hearing to discuss proposed changes to the country's Mining Code. However, he did not invite any indigenous representatives. The Ngobe believe they should have been invited because of mining projects that threaten their lands. (Intercontinental Cry, Jan. 31; Panama News, Jan. 24)

The North Cauca Association of Indigenous Councils (ACIN) in Colombia's Cauca department has implemented its own re-immersion program for demobilized guerillas, helping them through the interview process required by the government and assisting them in finding homes and employment.

A Peruvian appeals court announced on Jan. 24 it had rejected the government's petition to overturn a lower court's decision to grant parole to Lori Berenson, a US citizen held since 1995 for collaboration with a Marxist rebel organization. According to Berenson and her lawyer, the ruling was final and cannot be appealed, representing a major setback to the government's efforts to return her to prison. Berenson's release last year sparked angry reaction in Peru, where she is widely remembered for her tirades in court during her televised trials in 1995. Berenson is obliged to stay in Lima for the remaining five years of her 20-year prison sentence, unless her sentence is commuted by President Alan García. If her sentence is commuted, Berenson would be deported immediately, allowing her to return to her native New York.

On Jan. 26, coca growers and their supporters gathered in cities across Bolivia to hold peaceful demonstrations in support of their government's proposed amendment to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The amendment seeks to decriminalize the traditional practice of coca leaf chewing. Coca growers' federations from the Chapare region gathered in Cochabamba's main plaza to collectively chew coca, distribute information, offer free samples of coca leaves, and show their solidarity with the Bolivian government's legalization proposal. (Andean Information Network, Jan. 26)

The state agency PeruPetro has given the consortium that operates Peru's massive natural gas field at Camisea has until March 30 to negotiate a deal on export royalties, with talks deadlocked. The controversy comes as presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo has made a key platform plank of his demands that extractive industries contribute more of their revenue to support social development programs. (Reuters, Jan. 28; Bloomberg, Jan. 27)

A new study in the journal Science shows that the Amazon suffered a serious drought last year—making for two severe droughts in the world's biggest rainforest within five years, and raising disturbing implications for global climate. While the Amazon normally absorbs huge amounts of CO2, droughts cause the reverse effect—with the forests releasing emissions as dead trees decay. Emissions from last year's drought may exceed the 5 billion tons of CO2 that the last drought in 2005 is believed to have released. This is roughly equal to the annual emissions of the United States.