The Western Hemisphere's worst human rights abuser by a mile (and, not coincidentally, closest US ally) is a "good model" for what Washington hopes to build in Afghanistan. The Afghans must be very comforted. From Reuters, Jan. 19 (emphasis added):

BOGOTA - Colombia's U.S.-backed fight against drug traffickers and armed groups could be a good model for Afghanistan to follow in its effort to battle illegal narcotics, a top U.S. general said on Friday.

An international commission of human rights observers announced Jan. 21 that at least 23 people were killed and a number of cases of physical abuse and sexual assaults against women were recorded during the months-long conflict in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca last year. The Barcelona-based International Civil Commission for Human Rights Observation (CCIODH), headed by Spain's Ignacio Garcia, presented a preliminary report on the violations of the rights of civilians, teachers and activists of the Oaxaca People's Assembly (APPO).

In his first published interview with the foreign press since he became Mexico's president last month, Felipe Calderon told the Financial Times: "The United States is jointly responsible for what is happening to us... [I]n that joint responsibility the U.S. government has a lot of work to do. We cannot confront this problem alone."

Honduras announced Jan. 12 that it will temporarily take control of oil storage terminals as part of a program to lower fuel prices and combat "energy terrorism."

Some 45 Jews in Sa'ada, Yemen, have fled their homes after being threatened by radical Muslims and are seeking aid from the government, according to a Jan. 21 report in the Saudi daily Al Wattan. The Jews apparently received letters accusing them of being part of an “international Zionist conspiracy" and warning them to leave their homes within 10 days. The letters threatened that those who stayed would be killed or their children abducted and their homes looted.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid diplomatic visits to three Latin American countries Jan. 13-15, starting with Venezuela on Jan. 13. He and President Hugo Chavez reviewed accords they had signed in Caracas in September and signed new accords which were not immediately made public. "Iran and Venezuela will be together to the end," Ahmadinejad said. "It's possible that some problems will arise, but the revolutionary will of the two peoples will conquer any problem." (EFE, Jan. 13)

From the Editor & Publisher, Jan. 22:

Conrado de la Cruz Jiménez, the publisher of the most influential daily in the Mexican state of Chiapas, has died in Miami, where he fled to escape prosecution by the state government, the Mexico City newspaper El Universal reported.

On Jan. 18 center-right Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and a group of business executives signed an agreement to hold the price of corn at 8.5 pesos ($0.78) per kilogram. The plan for de facto price controls, a shift from Calderon's free market agenda, came after corn prices jumped from about six pesos in most of 2006 to 10 pesos ($0.90) in January. The "Agreement to Stabilize the Price of the Tortilla" will be in effect until April 30, when it will be subject to review. (AP; La Jornada, Jan. 19)