Diego Arcos Meneses, arrested over a year ago in the massacre at the rainforest settlement of Viejo Velasco on what Amnesty International called "fabricated and deficient" evidence, was freed Dec. 4 by order of state authorities in Chiapas, Mexico. Amnesty hailed the dropping of charges against Arcos, but demanded both restitution to him and his family, as well as a renewed investigation to find those responsible for the attack, in which four were killed, another four abducted, and scores forced to flee. (Amnesty International, Dec. 6)

The group named by rights observers in the Viejo Velasco attack, the Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights (OPDDIC), linked to the traditional Chiapas political machine, recently carried out a new attack on the community of Olga Isabel, loyal to the rival Zapatista rebel movement.

See our last post on Mexico and the struggle in Chiapas.