- In Juarez, police found the bodies of three family members related to human rights activist Josefina Reyes, killed by unidentified gunmen in January 2010. Cronica reports that Reyes' brother, sister and sister's were found southeast of the city. They had been reported missing since the beginning of February. Reyes was a vocal protestor against military torture and abuse in Juarez. Another member of the Reyes family has asked the government to solve the deaths as quickly as the government responded to the death of U.S. agent Jaime Zapata, according to El Universal.
- The U.S. conducted a drug sweep Thursday that resulted in the arrests of more than 450 people believed to be connected to the Mexican cartels, the New York Times reports. Logistical planning for the operation began before the death of U.S. agent Jaime Zapata last week. The sweep comes alongside the arrests of 22 people who ran a criminal ring which produced false documents for undocumented immigrants, reports EFE.
- Massacres in Colombia increased by 40 percent in 2010, says a report by the United Nations (UN) presented Thursday. The rising violence is to increased activity by the drug-trafficking gangs descended from the right-wing paramilitaries, labeled "criminal bands" (bandas criminales - BACRIMS) by the government. According to Colombia's UN High Comissioner for Human Rights, Christian Salazar, these groups are now the "principal threat to the state and to human rights in Colombia," reports El Colombiano. According to the UN office, at least 179 people were massacred in 38 different incidents in 2010, compared with 139 people killed in 27 massacres in 2009.
SUBSCRIBE