"Che" photo turns 50 today

Feliz Cumple...

Albert Korda's iconic image of Che Guevara is 50 years old today.

Court votes no on Uribe reelection

Court votes no on Uribe reelection
Originally uploaded by Karen Hoffmann

On Friday, Colombia's Constitutional Court voted no on a referendum that would have allowed current president Alvaro Uribe to run for a third term.

Everyone I've talked to thinks this is great. But I guess I don't know many Uribistas...

How to rebuild? Haiti looks to Colombia

Photo Credit: paul bridgewater - www.londonmusicphotographer.com

In 1999, an earthquake hit the town of Armenia, Colombia, killing 1,200 people and leveling two-thirds of the buildings. Tens of thousands were left homeless.

The resulting reconstruction effort won a United Nations prize. Today, Haiti's interior minister visited Armenia to see what lessons could be learned for his country.

(via Reuters)

GlobalPost: Wayuu mine salt the traditional way

 

Photo Credit: Mon4ch0

On Colombia's Caribbean coast, the indigenous Wayuu people mine salt in the same way they have for centuries. It's causing some conflict with the government, which wants more industrial mining operations. Check out Nadja Drost's story with a great accompanying slideshow.

Indigenous killed, wounded by Colombian military and FARC

 

Photo Credit: rojo en los ojos

Via WW4 Report:

The Colombian Air Force denied Jan. 31 that its planes had bombed the indigenous Embera Katío community of Alto Guayabal in the Urabá region early that morning, leaving four wounded. But the following day, the army's Seventh Division issued a statement taking responsibility for the air-strike, saying they took place in operations against the FARC rebels. Calling the casualties "lamentable," the statement said two of the injured were evacuated to Medellín. The Indigenous Organization of Antioquia (OIA) said one of the casualties was an infant. Indigenous leader William Carupia accused the army of "indiscriminately bombing the communities." (El Tiempo, Bogotá, Feb. 2; El Colombiano, Medellín, RNV, Venezuela, AFP, Feb. 1) Last year the FARC was accused of assassinating Embera residents in the region.

On Feb. 1, one civilian was killed and three injured at the Nasa community of Los Robles, Cauca department, when a gun battle broke out between the military and FARC guerrillas. The four indigenous woodcutters were traveling on a mountain road when soldiers used their truck to hide from FARC gunfire. The guerillas then attacked the truck "indiscriminately with mortar bombs," local indigenous authorities said. The dead man was identified as Ramon Iterera, 41.

Said the Association of Northern Cauca Indigenous Governors (ACIN): "In these conflicts human rights are not respected, no armed person should hide amongst civilians, in order not to put them at risk. In this case both the army and the guerrillas are culpable for the lamentable occurrence." (Colombia Reports, Jan. 28; EFE, Jan. 27)

Paramilitaries 2.0

"The situation in Colombia is quite sinister. There is an appearance of normalcy ... It appears to be a situation where the rule of law has replaced the rule of these armed militias. But if you look under the surface, you find that there are all these strange tentacles and networks and links between shadowy groups. They know exactly how to issue a threat or to execute a threat and keep the population in line that way." -Stephen Ferry, photographer

From yesterday's Human Rights Watch report:

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Gonzales: 'Pride and Deception'

Another translation from WatchingAmerica.com. Colombian newspaper El Tiempo calls for the Latino leadership in Congress to 'join the outcry' for Alberto Gonzales' resignation.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez: a 'Terrible Betrayal'

"In a community so desperate for good role models, the ascent of Gonzales represented a double triumph: Not only would he be the first Latino Attorney General, but he would also be the first Latino to occupy one of the four positions of greatest influence in the presidential cabinet.

"Two years on ... Gonzales hasn't lifted a finger in defense of the Hispanic community.

"His record shows a noticeable tendency to erode minority voting rights."

"The latest scandal in which Gonzales has been involved is the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, in what appears to be a political purge of government officials who failed to adhere to the political agenda of the Republican Party."

In what the paper calls the "most aberrant" case, U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was dismissed for allegedly neglecting cases of illegal immigration in San Diego in "her eagerness to prosecute real criminals."

Lam