NACLA Update 07/02/2009 - Coup in Honduras / Paramilitary Colombia / Mexico’s Narco-State




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Coercion Incorporated: Paramilitary Colombia
On Monday, President Obama met with Álvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, to discuss the possibility of signing a free trade agreement. While Obama said "there remains work to do," he expressed his confidence that the deal can move forward soon and praised Uribe for "the progress that has been made in human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labor leaders there." He added that "we've seen improvements when it comes to prosecution of those who are carrying out these blatant human rights offenses." Yet between 2007 and 2008, there was a more than 70% increase in the number of murdered Colombian unionists, according to Escuela Nacional Sindical, a Colombian labor NGO. Moreover, those responsible for the vast majority of the bloodshed in Colombia—right-wing paramilitary groups aligned with the Uribe administration—have been granted an unusual degree of leniency. The July/August 2009 issue of NACLA Report on the Americas, titled "Coercion Incorporated: Paramilitary Colombia," examines how the Colombian government's efforts to grant impunity to paramilitaries, as well as making them over as legitimate political actors, has meant the incorporation of these violent groups into the Colombian political and economic system. This is must-reading for those of us in North America who are concerned about our government's continuing alliance with one of the most corrupt administrations in the hemisphere.
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Stand in Solidarity With the People of Honduras
Latin America Solidarity Coalition

The Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) condemns the military coup against the democratically elected Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran social movements, who are courageously resisting the military take-over through protests, occupations, and strikes, are calling on the international community to speak up in defense of real and direct democracy —for life, justice, liberty, dignity, and peace.
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Honduran Coup Turns Violent, Sanctions Imposed
by Laura Carlsen

Thousands of Hondurans are now in the streets to protest the coup d'etat in their country. They have been met with tear gas, anti-riot rubber bullets, tanks firing water mixed with chemicals, and clubs. Police have moved in to break down barricades and soldiers used violence to push back protesters at the presidential residence, leaving an unknown number wounded. If the coup leaders were desperate when they decided to forcibly depose the elected president, they are even more desperate now.
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Mexico's Emerging Narco-State
by Todd Miller

The July 5 mid-term election in Mexico will continue narcotraffickers' creeping reach into all sectors of the country's political life. The army and police are already drenched in narco-scandals, while reports show that political campaigns and government offices have also been infiltrated or co-opted by traffickers. But Mexico is not a failed state, such extensive corruption and illicit wealth creation actually depends on the state.
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