At least one is reported dead in Peru's southern region of Puno after the National Police fired on protesters April 26, the second day of a 48-hour civil strike or paro called by campesino groups to demand a halt to local mining and petroleum leases. The deceased, identified as María Choque Limache, 61, died after inhaling tear gas as police broke up a protest at the village of Yohoroco, in Huacullani district of Chucuito province, according to Walter Aduviri Calisaya, president of the Puno Front for the Defense of Natural Resources. National Police commander Jaime Cordero Ayala denied this version of events, insisting she had not been at the protest and had died of natural causes. (Peru21, April 27)

Declassified internal documents from the Cincinnati-based banana company Chiquita Brands International made public on April 7 indicate that the multinational's Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, had a much closer relation with leftist rebels and rightwing paramilitaries than Chiquita has admitted in the past. Chiquita agreed in March 2007 to pay the US government $25 million in fines for supporting the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which the US designated as a terrorist group, but the company insisted that Banadex only gave the AUC money to keep it from attacking Chiquita employees; the company said it had also paid off two leftist guerrilla organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), for the same reason.

In Colombia's largest demonstration since President Juan Manuel Santos took office last August, tens of thousands of unionists, students and teachers demonstrated throughout the country on April 7 to protest a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US and proposed changes in the education system that they say will lead to privatization. The Unitary Workers Central (CUT), Colombia's main labor federation, estimated turnout at 1.5 million. Demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, Barranquilla and other cities.

US President Barack Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on April 7 agreed to a deal on the Andean country's appalling labor conditions, clearing the way for the pending Free Trade Agreement. "This is going to be a win for the US," Obama said while speaking in the Oval Office with Santos. The plan sets out a timeline for Colombia to address concerns about violence against union members, with Bogotá agreeing to "dramatically expand" protection for workers by April 22, come up with a plan by May 20 to build up the capacity of its regional judicial offices, and revise its criminal code by mid-June to make threats against workers' rights punishable by up to five years imprisonment. The action plan is considered a "precondition" for the trade agreement to go into effect, though some of those measures are expected to be taken after congress acts on the FTA.

On March 22, Bernardo Rios of San José de Apartadó peace community in the Colombian region of Uraba was gunned down by a group of men known locally as paramilitaries, less than a mile from a military checkpoint. In an April 4 press release, the peace community accused the government of turning a blind eye to the ongoing violence. "They try to end us in different ways, today they want to displace us, but our stubbornness for life will not let us give it up," declared the community. The statement said local police forces did nothing as paramilitaries continued to threaten them, accusing them of supporting guerrillas and telling them that they will pay dearly if they do not leave the area. Since the peace community was founded in 1997, some 195 members have been killed, yet only a handful of low-ranking army officers and paramilitary fighters have been convicted. (Fellowship of Reconciliation, Colombia Reports, April 4)

Ecuador's government on April 6 declared US ambassador Heather Hodges "persona non grata" and expelled her from the country in response to a cable released by the Wikileaks whistle-blower web site. Hodges refused to repudiate the July 2009 confidential cable that bore her signature and was published by Spanish newspaper El País. In the document addressed to the State Department, Hodges said embassy officials believed President Rafael Correa was aware of supposed corrupt practices by former national police chief Jaime Hurtado, but that the president named him to the post anyway because it would make him more easily manipulated.

Andrés Taipe Chuquipuma, 22, on April 4 became the first fatal casualty in the ongoing civil strike (paro) at Islay village in Peru's Arequipa region against the planned Tía María copper mining project. He died in the hospital hours after receiving a bullet in the stomach in a confrontation with the National Police. Two more protesters at Islay were killed April 7. The following day, Peru's government announced that the project was cancelled, with the mining ministry saying the environmental impact assessment presented by the Southern Copper Corp. was "inadmissible." (BBC News, April 9; Dow Jones, April 8; RPP, April 4)

Brazil signed an agreement with Bolivia March 30 to fight cocaine production and trafficking, replacing assistance formerly provided by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which was ejected from the country by President Evo Morales in 2008 for alleged political interference. Brazil will help train and equip Bolivian security forces, and deploy drone aircraft to patrol the border. The Bolivia-Brazil Action Plan was signed by Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo on a visit to Bolivia, during which he visited Cochabamba department to witness security forces eradicating coca crops. (Los Tiempos, Cochabamba, March 31; BBC News, March 30)