The State Department on Jan. 9 officially expelled a Venezuelan consul general over an alleged plot involving Venezuela, Iran and Cuba to launch a cyber-attack against Washington. The department said it gave Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela's consul general in Miami, 24 hours to leave the United States after declaring her persona non grata—the most serious form of censure a country can apply to a foreign diplomat. The move comes after recent claims on the US-based Spanish-language TV network Univision that Acosta was involved in plans three years ago, with a group of diplomats based in Mexico to attack the computer systems of the White House, FBI, CIA, Pentagon, National Security Agency and several nuclear power plants. The report also claimed Acosta was seeking the aid of hackers to uncover incriminating information on US political figures, including Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Iran's former ambassador to Mexico, Mohammad Hassan Ghadir, appeared on Univision last month to deny the accusations. The network tied Acosta to Venezuela's espionage agency, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service.

The Bolivian government is currently studying a bill to ban the sale of land to foreigners, Vice Minister of Land Edgar Apaza said Jan. 8. The proposal came from a social summit held in Cochabamba last month, which brought together lawmakers and representatives of popular movements. Apaza endorsed the proposed law, which would include penalties for those who attempt to disguise land ownership to skirt the ban. He stressed that Bolivia is obliged to pass such a law by Article 396 of the new constitution, which denies the acquisition of national lands by foreigners. Many of the best lands in the east and south of the country are in the hands of Brazilians and Argentines. (Prensa Latina, Jan. 7)

Colombia's National Police have mobilized 500 troops as well as a team of the elite Judicial Police (DIJIN) to northern Urabá region following the declaration of an "armed strike" (paro armada) by a paramilitary group known as Los Urabeños. Gunmen left leaflets in towns throughout the region, threatening residents and business owners—warning them to honor the strike or face arson attacks. Authorities have arrested 12 armed men who were distributing the leaflets and painting threatening graffiti in the municipalities of San Pedro de Urabá, Apartadó, Uramita, Cañas Gordas y Briceño, all in Antioquia department. Despite the police presence, the streets of several local towns have been completely cleared. The strike was apparently declared in response to the slaying of an Urabeños leader named "Giovanni." (El Tiempo, Bogotá, Jan. 5)

More than 950 relatives of inmates launched a protest occupation of a Venezuelan prison over the New Year holiday, saying they will refuse to leave the facility until authorities agree to their demand for faster trials for their loved ones. Prisons Minister Iris Varela sad the relatives decided to "kidnap themselves" at the Yare I and II prison about 70 kilometers southwest of Caracas. They include 800 women and 150 children and youth, as well as a few men. Varela said President Hugo Chávez has told authorities to negotiate peacefully. But, while Venezuela's prisons are dangerously overcrowded, Varela also alleged that human rights groups financed by the CIA are trying to use the occupation "to destabilize the country." (AP, Jan. 4)

Protests in Peru's north-central region of Cajamarca resumed on Jan. 2, with a thousand gathering in the city square to demonstrate against the Conga gold mining project. "We will mobilize in a peaceful protest in Cajamarca, in Hualgayoc, and in Celendín," said Wilfredo Saavedra, head of Cajamarca's Environmental Defense Front, referring to the municipalities to be impacted by the project. Canal N television reported that regional leaders are expected to decide whether to launch a new indefinite strike in the coming days. With negotiations with the administration of President Ollanta Humala at a stalemate, Cajamarca's regional council in the closing days of 2011 voted to declare the Conga project to be "unviable." The declaration stated the project "could cause irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems, in turn generating economic and social damage of incalculable magnitude, which clash directly with the fundamental rights of people living in these jurisdictions…" (Peru This Week, Jan. 3)

After a three-day delay, Peruvian authorities finally allowed US citizen Lori Berenson to leave Lima on Dec. 19 for a brief visit to her family in New York. A court had ruled earlier in the month that she could visit the US with her young son until Jan. 11; Berenson has been living in Lima on parole since May 2010 after serving almost 15 years of a 20-year sentence for collaborating with the leftist rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Berenson's first attempt to leave was blocked by immigration authorities at the Lima airport on Dec. 16, repeating a pattern of harassment and judicial irregularities that have marked her case since she was arrested in 1995. (AP, Dec. 20)

Even as the White House has censured Venezuelan officials for "narco-terrorist" ties, AP reported Dec. 15 that Venezuela handed a top Colombian drug trafficking suspect over to US authorities. The US had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco AKA "Valenciano." InsightCrime informs us that "Valenciano" led the "Oficina de Envigado" criminal organization, seen as a successor to the Medellín Cartel. He was arrested last month in Maracay, west of Caracas.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala called off the state of emergency in four provinces of Cajamarca region Dec. 16 after local leaders agreed to suspend their civil strike against Newmont Mining Corp.'s $4.8 billion Conga gold project. Prime Minister Oscar Valdés will lead a "high-level committee" to Cajamarca Dec. 19 to meet with regional officials and community leaders. Cajamarca's regional president Gregorio Santos announced suspension of the paro in the face of growing pressure; the state of emergency had blocked bank accounts and other financial services in the region. Village mayors and community leaders have agreed to comply with the suspension pending the outcome of talks.