General

On June 5th, violence erupted near Bagua, Perú when members of the country’s security forces confronted indigenous people who were protesting recent governmental decrees that, if fully enacted, would allow logging, drilling, and mining on indigenous lands without the prior consultation of the communities. According to various sources, the protestors had been blocking roads and waterways peacefully when ground forces and helicopters were sent in to break up the demonstration. Many people, both indigenous protestors and members of the security forces, were killed and wounded in the ensuing clash.

In mid-May, shortly after being confirmed to lead the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowski offered the latest hint that the Obama Administration might take a new approach to counternarcotics.

Mauricio Funes was sworn as President of El Salvador last June 1st. As Funes and his wife, Vanda Pignato, arrived at the inaugural ceremony, they were received by a cheering crowd chanting, "Yes, we did!" As the couple reached the stage, the chants turned into the traditional Latin American leftist hymn, "The people, united, will never be defeated." Monday's inauguration marks a turning point in the country's history, since it is the first time El Salvador elected a leftist president. Since colonial times, the smallest Central American country has had a troublesome history characterized by brutal repression of indigenous uprisings, decades of military dictatorship, a bloody twelve-year civil war and more recently, 20 years of right-wing party rule. Therefore, the FMLN victory represents a new era of hope and change for Salvadorans.