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Establishment of military bases in Chile and Peru reveals United States’ intention to increase influence in the region

[Translation of an article from Brasil de Fato of São Paulo for July 5. See original here and related articles here and here.]

by Patrícia Benvenuti

The hope for new relations between the United States and Latin America continues to be ever more distant. Recent activity, in particular the establishment of new military bases, reveals an attempt by the United States to increase its influence in the region.

On April 5, work on the Personnel Training Center for Peace Operations in Urban Zones was completed in Chile. Located at Fort Aguayo, in Concón, in the Valparaíso Region, the base was constructed in 60 days, considered a record time for this kind of project.

The structure consists of eight buildings, which simulate a small city. The cost of the base, financed by the Southern Command of the United States armed forces, was almost 500,000 dollars. The Center will be used for training the so-called Peace Forces of Latin American nations that are part of United Nations missions. (more…)

[Translation of an article from Revistazo of Tegucigalpa for August 16. See original here and related articles here, here and here.]

By Germán Reyes

Honduras is experiencing its worst crime wave in history and although crime is spread through every region of the country, Security Minister Óscar Álvarez has announced the launch of a new joint operation by the military and the police in the Aguán region, an area characterized by struggle between campesinos and landowners.

More than 150 campesinos and security guards have died in armed confrontations in the Aguán area. The government, incapable of complying with signed commitments, has announced a militarization through Operation Xatruch II.

The security minister reports the deployment of 600 additional men, to be added to the contingent that has been stationed in the region for several months. (more…)

Caravan arrives in Chihuahua, an area torn apart by violence

[Translation of an article from La Jornada of Mexico City for June 10. See original here.]

By Alonso Urrutia

Chihuahua, Chihuahua, June 9 – Pained testimonies could be heard from the stage: the massacre in Creel, the descriptions of executions in the place with the most homicides in the country, the domination of the sierra by the assassins, the defenselessness of the indigenous, the abuse by the police and the military… With all the savagery described, there is one crime that generates a particular collective pain, the killing of Marisela Escobedo.

It has been seven months since the murder and the Caravana por la Paz con Jusiticia y Dignidad arrives at the capital of the state of Chihuahua to open a space for a heartfelt memorium: “Marisela Escobedo was murdered here on December 16, 2010, for demanding justice for the femicide of her daughter Rubí.” The poet Javier Sicilia and Julián LeBaron placed a plaque three meters from the government palace, exactly where she was killed. (more…)

[Translations of two articles from La Jornada of Mexico City for June 4 and 5.]

Soldiers kill three minors in Reynosa
Another 29 people killed in ten states

Army personnel killed three students from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, who were driving a pickup truck on the La Ribereña highway near the settlement of Los Cavazos because they failed to obey a signal to stop.

Students Daniel Hernández, who was 13, and César Alejandro Cuéllar, 15, of the Francisco J. Múgica secondary school, and Eduardo Cuéllar, 17, of the Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Agropecuario, were driving home to the Estación Anzaldúas, one kilometer from Los Cavazos, when the soldiers signalled for them to stop but, according to witnesses, the youths ignored the signal. (more…)