Colombia’s Congress will hold extra sessions to debate the pending demobilization of thousands, if not tens of thousands of FARC guerrillas.

General José Guillermo García, who this year turned 83 years old, and who was Minister of Defense in the first years of the Salvadoran civil war, arrived in El Salvador on Friday, January 8 after the United States deported him.

Managua had the highest number of cases, but for the nation as a whole incidents of femicide were reduced.

On the one side are the necessary deals required for a workable peace deal. On the other are demands for justice and accountability. 

Chilean Justice ratified the sentences against officials of the feared National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Augusto Pinochet’s secret police between 1973 and 1977, responsible for human rights violations including killings, kidnappings, and torture.   

The Salvadoran regime in the years before and during the Civil War systematized information on political enemies, in most cases to torture, kill, or disappear them.

Marijuana is about to make a legal reappearance.  After the resolution of the Supreme Court, which authorized four permits for the recreational use of pot, it looks like it could be decriminalized. 

Margaraita Zavala, being the only female front-runner in Mexico’s presidential race, distinguishes herself from her opponents by highlighting the need for progress in women’s rights. 

Flor Alba Núñez was assassinated by Juan Camilo Ortiz, aka Loco, a local gang member whom she exposed for attempted murder in Pitalito.  Her refusal to be silent has cost the journalist her life.

The leader of the FARC and the Colombian President’s brother have agreed to a new conclave that requires that both sides not leave the negotiating table until the peace talks in Cuba have concluded positively.