MEXICO: A LONG MARCH AGAINST THE MINING COMPANIES
Some 200 members of the Wixarika, or Huichol tribe, which inhabits the western states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Durango, demonstrated in Mexico City Oct. 26 and 27, demanding that President Felipe Calderon halt mining in the San Potosi desert. The region contains the mountain Wirikuta, a site considered sacred by the indigenous peoples and declared a Protected Natural Reserve in 2001 by the United Nations Organization. “The government is devastating and seizing our sacred lands,” said one of the representatives of Wixarika. “It wants to put an end to us, to destroy our Mother Earth.”
NICARAGUA: NICARAGUA CONTINUES TO TRUST ITS FUTURE TO ORTEGA
Nicaraguans re-elected President Daniel Ortega Nov. 6, by a landslide; the veteran Sandinista leader obtained 62 percent of votes cast. An estimated 3.4 million Nicaraguans, or almost 86 percent of eligible voters, turned out to cast their votes over the course of the day. The final results will be ready in a few days, when the new configuration of the National Assembly is known.
WASHINGTON DC: UNTIED STATES HAS FIVE ANTI-DRUG COMMANDO-STYLE SQUADS OPERATING IN LATIN AMERICA
The New York Times reported that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration has five commando-style squads carrying out secret missions in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, under the name of Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Team. Each FAST squadron contains 10 members, and although they do not have the authority to arrest the citizens of the countries in which they operate, they are accompanied by national military forces on their missions. Some countries like Mexico, have denied the presence of the U.S. troops within its borders, but have openly accepted other types of assistance, such as spying on cartels with unmanned drones.