The Obama administration sought to boost security ties with hemispheric allies last month as Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Peru, Colombia, and Barbados. Before kicking off his tour in Lima, Gates and met with Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim at the Pentagon April 12, to sign the two countries' first bilateral defense pact since 1977. In Bogotá, Gates voiced support for the stalled US-Colombia FTA. "I would hope we would be in a position to make a renewed effort to get ratification of the free trade agreement," Gates said. "It is a good deal for Colombia; it is also a good deal for the United States."

Talks are underway in Lima between small-scale miners and Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines to arrive at a National Plan for Formalization of Artisanal Mining following a paro, or protest campaign, by miners last month to demand clarification of land and prospecting rights. Clashes with National Police at roadbocks established by thousands of protesting miners near the coastal village of Chala, Arequipa department, April 4-7, left six miners dead. Reports said protesters threw stones and sticks at the police, who responded with tear gas and live fire. Charges have been brought against leaders of the National Federation of Artisanal Miners of Peru (FENAMARPE) and the affiliated Mining Federation of Madre de Dios (FEDEMIN).

On May 1, a second rancher was sentenced for his role in the murder of Dorothy Stang, the US-born nun who was assassinated in 2005 in retaliation for her efforts on behalf of poor farmers in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. Regivaldo Galvao was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a jury in the city of Belém. Last month rancher Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for hiring hitmen to kill Stang. Three gunmen were earlier sentenced for the crime.

Spanish-Argentine oil giant Repsol-YPF has applied to Peru's government to cut 454 kilometers of seismic lines and construct 152 heliports in its search for oil on uncontacted tribes' land in the remote Amazon rainforest. Repsol's plans were revealed in a report sent last month to Peru's Energy Ministry, which will now decide whether to approve the project. Cutting seismic lines, a key part of oil exploration, involves clearing paths through the forest and detonating explosives at regular intervals.

On April 29, a group of indigenous Kichwa men from the community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadoran Amazon were attacked with dynamite and firearms by invaders illegally encroaching on indigenous lands. The assailants fired at point-blank range as the Kichwa men were drinking chicha on a jungle trail, and three Kichwa were injured. One, Silvio Malaver, who received the impact of the dynamite, shows signs of brain damage. The three had to be carried through the jungle for 14 hours to the airstrip in Sarayaku, and were then taken to hospital in the town of Puyo by medevac plane.

Ecuadoran police on May 6 fired tear gas at indigenous protesters gathered outside the National Assembly building in Quito to oppose a water resources bill that they say would favor mining companies and agribusiness over peasant communities. Protesters blocked highways at three points around the country as well as blocking the entrances to the National Assembly building. Police said two protesters and 11 police officers were injured in the clash. At least 1,000 protesters are now camped out in a park near the congress building, where they expect to be joined by delegations from several provinces that are still marching on the capital. Near Guayllabamba, Pichincha province, police detained a convoy of 15 buses carrying some 1,000 indigenous comuneros from the village of Cayambi towards Quito. (IPS, Reuters, El Comercio, Quito, May 6)

A Virginia military jury on May 6 acquitted US Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe on charges of assaulting a high-profile Iraqi detainee. Petty Officer 2nd Class McCabe was accused of punching Ahmed Hashim Abed, implicated in the killing of four American contractors in Fallujah in 2004. McCabe was charged with assault, dereliction of duty, and lying to investigators, and he could have faced up to a year in prison if convicted. The prosecution's key witness testified that he saw McCabe punch Abed, but the testimony was contradicted by several defense witnesses. The jury deliberated for an hour and 40 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty.

Members of the Mauritanian diaspora in the United States are organizing a demonstration to protest against the recent incendiary statement of Prime Minster Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf that his government will generalize the use of Arabic at all levels of the administration and educational system. "If such a policy is implemented, it will amount to a cultural genocide against Black Mauritanians who have been discriminated against for too long," reads a statement by protest organizers. The statement also notes a recent comment by Minister of Culture and Youth Cisse Mint Boide that "The national languages are obstacles to the emergence of the Arabic language."