To mark the conviction of Col. Alfonso Plazas Vega—the first ever in Colombia's infamous 1985 Palace of Justice case—the National Security Archive in Washington DC posted a selection of key declassified documents pertaining to the case June 11. Included was a 1999 US Embassy cable finding that soldiers under the command of Col. Plazas Vega had "killed a number of M-19 members and suspected collaborators hors de combat [outside of combat], including the Palace's cafeteria staff."

Social movements in Peru's Southern Macro-region held a general strike June 17 through 18, to demand a halt to the natural gas contract with the Camisea LNG consortium. Roads were blocked and businesses shut throughout the affected areas. Parts of Cuzco, Arequipa, and Tacna regions held a 24-hour paro, or protest campaign, while organizations in Puno, Madre de Dios and Apurimac extended the campaign to 48 hours, to press for cancellation of the Inambari hydro-power plant. Cuzco's provinces of La Convención, Espinar and Canchis also extended the strike to 48 hours.

After three days of searching, Mexican army troops and Quintana Roo state police on June 18 discovered 12 bodies in four cenotes (natural wells) near the Cancún airport. Last week, six bodies were found in another presumed narcofosa (narco-grave) in Cancún. Authorities were apparently tipped off to mass graves by arrested sicarios (assassins), and 19 more have been arrested in their connection. Among those detained are a former member of the Kaibiles, the Guatemalan army's special forces, and an ex-agent of the Cancún municipal police. Authorities did not say which faction the detained belong to, but press accounts have identified them as members of Los Zetas. (El Universal, AFP, June 18; Diario de Quintana Roo, June 17)

From Amnesty International, June 16:

Israeli authorities must stop demolitions of Palestinian homes
Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to end house demolitions which leave thousands of Palestinians living in daily fear of eviction from their homes.

With appalling blatancy, Israel's "amen chorus" on Capitol Hill is proposing use of the Armenian genocide—specifically, the threat of US recognition of it as genocide—as political ammo against Turkey in the wake of the deadly Israeli naval attack on a Turkish-organized "Free Gaza" aid flotilla. From the Jerusalem Post, June 17:

Two Sudanese rebel leaders suspected of committing war crimes related to the ongoing Darfur violence surrendered June 16 to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo) are suspected in connection with the September 2007 attack on African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops at Haskanita, which resulted in the death of 12 peacekeepers. Summonses for Banda and Jerbo were issued under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber I last August and include charges of murder, intentionally attacking a peacekeeping mission, and "pillaging."

Hundreds of Turkish soldiers made an incursion into Iraqi territory in "hot pursuit" of Kurdish guerillas June 16, Turkish government officials said. After a battle in Uludere district of Turkey's Sirnak province, the Turkish military said it sent three commando divisions and a special forces brigade two or three kilometers into Iraqi territory to chase down the rebels. Turkish warplanes also carried out a series of air-strikes against suspected rebel targets in Iraq. The Turkish military claimed to have killed four guerilla fighters in the battle, which also claimed the life of a Turkish solider. (CNN, June 17; AlJazeera, June 16)

From Human Rights Watch, June 16:

Iraqi Kurdistan: Girls and Women Suffer the Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation
Kurdistan Regional Government Should Outlaw the Practice
A significant number of girls and women in Iraqi Kurdistan suffer female genital mutilation (FGM) and its destructive after-effects, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. The Kurdistan Regional Government should take immediate action to end FGM and develop a long term plan for its eradication, including passing a law to ban the practice, Human Rights Watch said.