COLOMBIA: Government, ELN Continue Talks Under Wraps

Delegates of the Colombian government and the insurgent National Liberation Army (ELN) are continuing their talks in Havana, but this time without any speeches or statements to the press, in contrast to previous meetings.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Disinterring the ‘Disappeared’

It took Colombia 12 years to pass a law that made forced disappearance a crime and nearly seven more to launch a concrete plan to search for the victims. "This is a big stride," Gustavo Gallón, head of the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), told IPS.

COLOMBIA: ‘Parapolitics’ Scandal Brings Down Foreign Minister

In a brief statement Monday, Colombian Foreign Minister María Consuelo Araújo said she was stepping down to avoid interfering in the legal proceedings taken against her father, brother and cousin for their alleged links to the far-right paramilitaries.

COLOMBIA: The Limits of Paramilitary Repentance

Former paramilitary fighter Wilson Salazar, alias "El Loro", was impatient over and annoyed by the prosecutor's questions and the charges put forth by the victims' defence attorneys. He claimed he was being blamed for more crimes than he had committed.

COLOMBIA: Women Suffer Abuse Behind the Front Lines

"The actors in the Colombian armed conflict, in particular the paramilitary groups and the guerrilla, employ physical, sexual and psychological violence against women as a strategy of war," stated the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Constitutional Court Holds Out Hope for Displaced

"You can't imagine what it is like to lose everything in a split second, to flee as fast as you can with your terrified, hungry family, with no friends and without a single peso in your pockets, full of sadness because you're leaving behind everything - however much or little - that you have gained after years of work."

COLOMBIA: Released Telesur Reporter Fears for His Life

Telesur correspondent Fredy Muñoz was released from prison Tuesday, 52 days after his arrest. But the 36-year-old journalist faces the risk of new legal maneuvers, or an attempt on his life, to judge by similar cases in the past, said his lawyer.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Narcos Doing Brisk Business in Latin America

Coca continues to flourish in the Andean region, with production reduced somewhat in one country while increasing in another. Meanwhile, the drug business is no longer concentrated in just a few hands in Latin America, drug routes, players and products have diversified, and there is no sign that efforts to combat the phenomenon are enjoying any long-term success.

COLOMBIA: Open Your Books, Please, Bogota

For the first time, a Latin American city has been named World Book Capital. Bogotá will have this honour in 2007 by courtesy of UNESCO, with the main aim of promoting a dying habit: reading.

RIGHTS-BURKINA FASO: Wave of Protests Follows Journalist’s Death

Labour unions, students and human rights groups have been protesting for about a month now against the suspected murder of the director of a weekly that is often critical of the government and against what would appear to be a culture of impunity in the West African nation.