Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez was assassinated during a Day of the Dead celebration Nov. 1 in the main square of Uruapan, in the violence-torn Mexican state of Michoacán. He had been an outspoken opponent of the drug cartels and their reign of terror in the state, and his death sparked protests across Michoacán. At a demonstration in state capital Morelia the day after the murder, protesters demanded the resignation of Gov. Ramírez Bedolla, of Mexico's ruling MORENA party; one faction broke into and vandalized the Government Palace. President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a new "Michoacán Plan for Peace & Justice" to finally pacify the lawless state. 

The anarchist critique of Zohran Mamdani's election in the New York City mayoral race reminds us that "socialist faces in high places" do not bring fundamental change, and Gotham has seen mayors before elected on populist platforms only to capitulate to the permanent government dominated by the real estate industry once in office. However, the MAGA backlash to Mamdani's rise may help keep him true to his populist program, as it is the working people of New York who will have his back when Trump strikes back against the city—not the real estate barons. This crisis could provide the impetus for the needed rupture between progressive-run localities and a federal apparatus controlled by the illegitimate Trump regime—vindicating Murray Bookchin's theories of radical municipalism.

UN human rights experts raised concern on Nov. 4 over "repeated and systematic lethal attacks" by the US military against vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which they said could constitute war crimes under international maritime law.

US President Donald Trump on Nov. 1 said that he has ordered the Pentagon, or the "Department of War," to prepare contingency plans for potential military action in Nigeria. Trump alleged that the Nigerian government has failed to protect Christian communities from violent extremist attacks.

Advocacy groups in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit against US federal authorities on Oct. 31 over "inhumane" conditions at a Chicago-area Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, claiming violations of detainees' constitutional rights as well as federal regulations.

The plaintiffs' lawyers—from the MacArthur Justice Center, the ACLU of Illinois and Chicago law firm Eimer Stahl—charge that federal authorities have violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process clause by imposing unreasonable conditions of confinement. They also allege violations of an administrative regulation prohibiting coercion to induce waiver of rights. They further allege a violation of the Sixth Amendment in denial of detainees' right to counsel.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Oct. 23 announced that he will open the entire 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas leasing. These lands are sacred to the Gwich'in Nation, home to irreplaceable wildlife, and have never seen industrialization.

In an action taken during a government shutdown, the Department of Interior (DoI) held a press conference to announce a series of resource development decisions aimed at opening up Alaska for the benefit of corporate interests. A key announcement was the rescission of the Biden administration's restrictive drilling program for the refuge. The DoI is now essentially replacing that program with the previous Trump-era plan to fully open the Coastal Plain of the ANWR to oil and gas development.

The US administration announced sanctions Oct. 24 against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and Colombia's Minister of the Interior Armando Benedetti.

The regional head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned on Oct. 21 that Israeli settlers are increasing violence against Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank. The statement comes at the start of the critical olive harvest season, a main source of income for many Palestinian families.