The police eviction of a family in a working-class district of Peru's northern city of Cajamarca left one  dead and 10 detained Oct. 30. A court ordered the eviction of the family from their home in the city's Diego Ferré district, ruling that a new owner had bought the property at auction. But the family resisted eviction by a squad of riot police, leading to clashes outside the home. Resident Fidel Flores Vásquez, who the family considered the legitimate owner of the house, was shot by police as he stood on the building's roof, and died on the way to the hospital. Video showed police brutalizing and arresting family members who attempted to come his aid as he lay mortally wounded on the rooftop. A fracas with neighborhood residents subsequently erupted, in which police used tear-gas, and three officers were reported wounded. Residents later marched on the local headquarters of DRINCRI, the special investigative police force that carried out the raid. (RPP, Andina, Oct. 30)

Peru's special anti-terrorist force DIRCOTE on Oct. 29 announced the arrest in the Lima district of Surquillo of an operative of the militant group Hezbollah. The Interior Ministry said Lebanese national Muhamad Amadar was planning to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Peru, including the Israeli embassy, Chabad houses and Jewish community centers, and locations popular with Israeli backpackers. Explosives and weapons were reportedly turned up in a search of Amadar's apartment. Media reports suggest he was attempting to establish a cell in Peru linked to the supposed Hezbollah network in the Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil Triple Border area. Under interrogation, Amadar denied any ties to Hezbollah and claimed he was on his way to the US, to meet with his Peruvian-American wife. (i24, Israel, YNet, Oct. 30; RPP, Oct. 29)

At least 18 bodies were found in three mass graves near the pueblo of Tacueyó in Colombia's Cauca department over the weekend. The remains were unearthed by forensic experts from the Technical Investigations Unit (CTI) of the Fiscalía, Colombia's prosecutor general, and are believed to be victims of a guerilla massacre. The first of the graves was discovered by local campesinos while working the land, who informed the authorities. The CTI work was repeatedly interrupted by attacks from gunmen from the nearby mountains. The Tacueyó Massacre took place between 1985 and 1986, when the village was terrorized by the Ricardo Franco Front, a renegade FARC unit that broke from the guerilla army to join the rival M-19 rebels, but was repudiated by both groups.

On Oct. 3, authorities invaded the pueblo of El Reposo, in Campamento municipality of Colombia's Antioquia department, arresting three locals—including a minor and the president of the village Communal Action Junta—in connection with a supposed cocaine laboratory discovered nearby. But El Reposo's residents quickly turned the tables, rising up with their machetes, demanding that the three be liberated—and finally detaining 14 soldiers and six agents from the Fiscalía Technical Corps. The soliders and agents were held for several hours in the village schoolhouse. The government of Antioquia and Colombia's human rights ombudsman, the Defensoría del Pueblo, quickly mobilized a team to El Reposo to negotiate the release of the troops and agents. However, demands for the freedom of the three arrested locals remain outstanding, and the situation is still tense. (Semana, Bogotá, Oct. 3; Colombia Reports, La W Radio, BLU Radio,RCN, El Espectador, Bogotá, Oct. 3)

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Oct. 20 urged Venezuela to release politician and opposition leader Leopoldo López (BBC profile). Al Hussein expressed concern over the detention of López and 69 others who were arrested in connection with public protests that took place across Venezuela starting in February. Lopez was arrested on charges of instigating violence, damaging property and arson committed during a political rally on Feb. 12. López is the leader of the Popular Will party, which has garnered widespread supported from the student population in the country and strongly opposes the current government under Nicolas Maduro and the United Socialist Party. Al Hussein stated:

At a Conservative Party conference on the island of San Andres Oct. 16, Colombia's Prosecutor General Alejandro Ordoñez slammed President Juan Manuel Santos for "protecting a terrorist" by failing to arrest FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño AKA "Timochenko." The comments came after press revelations that Timochenko had secretly attended the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas in Havana, Cuba. (Colombia Reports, Oct. 17; The City Paper, Bogotá, Oct. 12)

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Oct. 15 called for the elimination of terrorist groups operating in the country, revealing details of the investigation into the murder of legislator Robert Serra. The young lawmaker, a rising star in the ruling PSUV, was found stabbed to death with his partner in their apartment in Caracas Oct. 3. Maduro announced that two arrested in the case were linked to an unnamed paramilitary leader in Colombia who he said was "plotting" to destabilize Venezuela. The local operative for the network in Caracas was named as Padilla Leyva (no first name given), who was said to go by the nom de guerre "El Colombia." Maduro said a manhunt is underway for fugitive members of the network. According to UN figures, Venezuela has the second highest peacetime murder rate in the world after Honduras. (TeleSUR, Oct. 15; BBC News, Oct. 13; BBC News, Oct. 3)

More than 100 Colombian farmers on Oct. 15 filed a lawsuit with the UK high court against British company Equion Energia, previously known as BP Exploration Colombia (BPXC), for alleged negligence when it built the Ocensa oil pipeline. The farmers are seeking around USD $29 million in compensation for environmental damage caused by the pipeline, including severe soil erosion, reduced vegetation coverage and damaged water resources. The farmers' lawyers said that the farmers did not understand the agreements they signed with BPXC and said that they were not provided full and fair compensation for environmental damage caused by the pipeline. The trial is BP's first in Britain for its overseas business.