Operation Condor was an illegal and brutal cooperation between military regimes in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, and Uruguay during the 1970’s and 1980’s.  The intent was to share information, resources, and exchange prisoners to be secretly tortured and even executed. 

Whatever their class, ethnicity, religion or political views, people generally regard peace as a good of the highest order. Very few will publicly disagree that peace should be a central focus in the political debates in Colombia.

Colombia found its military shattered as the 1990s drew to a close, following forty years of civil war. While the guerrilla had the support of the population, the army had to impose it or buy it. And whereas the guerrilla used primarily artisanal weapons, the army had resources, strategies and tactics taken from military school.

During the 1950s and 1960s, a spy from the Soviet Union freely wandered the streets of Montevideo, Uruguay in complete tranquility. She lived in the city center, married a writer, and owned an antique shop. No one ever spotted her.

Ravna Shamdasani, spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, worries that the extrajudicial executions carried out on at least 12 people last year in the Mexican city of Tlatlaya last year will go unpunished and that the victims will be denied justice.

To achieve peace Colombia will need to clear its territory from explosives planted by the guerrillas. Doing so could cost up to one billion pesos.

A recently published book by Allier and Crenzel titled The Struggles for Memory in Latin America analyzes the political memory struggles in different countries in the region, including El Salvador. This specific chapter concerning El Salvador is called “The peace limitations in the Salvadorian case: confronted memories and permanent victims.”

Eight towns in the State of Guerrero took part in the first committee of poppy producers who are asking the Mexican government to legalize the sale and cultivation of poppy. This measure would prevent the involvement with cartels. The profit from the sale of poppy is only 10,000 pesos for three months of work, when

Three members of one of Mexico’s leading political parties were removed from their positions recently when it was found that their integrity had been compromised by the use of “silver” in some cases and “lead” in others. 

With negotiations for peace continuing in Cuba, Colombia’s Commander in Chief reaffirmed that certain topics have not and will not ever be up for discussion at the round table.