In a well-rehearsed act of political theater, a group of leftist opposition congressmen unfurled a banner in the Chamber of Deputies bearing a large photo of a sleepy-faced President Felipe Calderon and the challenge: "Would you let a drunk drive your car? No, right? So why would you let him run the country?" Gossip has long circulated among Mexico's Twittering classes that El Senor Presidente likes a drink or three. But the stunt, during an open session of Congress last week,...

The United States has taken measures against a possible alliance with Al-Qaeda narco recognizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. Appearing before the National Security Committee of WARC floor, said that "for some time we thought about what would happen if, say al-Qaeda to join the Zetas, one of the drug cartels", without specifying what measures have been taken. In responding to a question from Rep. Texas, Blake Farenthold, the possibility that terrorist...

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos should "take advantage of the opportunity" and start peace talks with the FARC, the guerrilla group said in a press statement seen by Spanish press agency EFE Sunday. "If he really is interested in seeking a solution other than war he should take advantage of the opportunity and start a dialogue that allows a political solution to this serious conflict," EFE quoted the FARC. The press release was not published on the website of...

NGO Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) reported on a backlash in Venezuela's governance. "Alarming laws approved by the outgoing National Assembly (Enabling Law, Law on Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination, among others) violate the country's own obligations to advocate democracy and human rights." In a press release, the NGO urged the civil society and governments to answer to "concerning laws" recently approved in Venezuela, "so...

A drug gunman shot to death a woman who distributed newspapers in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez because his gang thought she threatened their control over street vendors, federal police said Tuesday. Monday's killing revealed some of the grittier aspects of one of the world's most violent cities, where about 6,000 drug-related murders were committed in 2009 and 2010. Victim Maribel Hernandez worked as a distributor for the Diario de Juarez and PM newspapers. She had influence over...

Amnesty International has urged the Venezuelan authorities to release a judge held for over a year without trial for provisionally releasing a banker accused of corruption. Judge María Lourdes Afiuni Mora was arrested on 10 December 2009, hours after she ordered the release of banker Eligio Cedeño, a decision that was within her power and consistent with Venezuelan law. A day after her arrest, the judge's decision was condemned by President Hugo Chávez during a...

The "Venezuelan government's domination" of the judiciary and its "weakening of democratic checks and balances" have contributed to a "precarious human rights situation" in Venezuela, said the NGO Human Right Watch (HRW) in its annual report released on Monday. "Without judicial checks on its action, President Hugo Chávez's government has systematically undermined journalistic freedom of expression, workers' freedom of association, and the ability...

Spanish police have detained at least 10 people with alleged links to the Basque separatist group ETA just over a week after the group declared a "permanent and general ceasefire." The Spanish interior ministry said most of the arrests were carried out early on Tuesday in the northern region of Navarra after suspects allegedly tried to reactivate the pro-ETA group Ekin. Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said the operation illustrates the government's pursuit of...

A car bomb exploded around 8:30 am. in the community of Carmen in the municipality of Tula. Apparently, there was also a message. The car was abandoned on the road Tepeji - Tula. When Municipal police arrived, it exploded. The attack came the day the mayor of Tula, Rodolfo Paredes Carbajal, gave his second State of the State report. The explosion of a the car bomb left four officers of the investigative police wounded, one of them seriously. The attack occurred after a call was received...

Colombia's Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera visited the Arauca Department on the border with Venezuela to assess security issues in the area, where members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the two main Colombian guerrillas, are still operating. Rivera travelled to Arauca Department with Admiral Edgar Cely, the General Commander of Colombia's Armed Forces; Felipe Muñoz, the director of the Security Administrative...