The Insititute of Studies for Development and Peace (Instituto de Estudios Para el Desarrollo y la Paz – INDEPAZ) released its latest report on the Colombian conflict, "The Advance of Narco-paramilitarism." The report notes that in 2010, 360 municipalities (out of more than 1,100 in Colombia, the equivalent to counties in the U.S.) registered attacks as a consequence of drug trafficking transactions and the presence of the so-called 'Bandas Criminales' or BACRIMs. Furthermore, in at least ten departments, these drug trafficking organizations have established a presence in half of the territory, including the economically critical states of Antioquia, Cauca, Cesar, Cordoba, Meta, Nariño and Valle del Cauca. All of these areas, the report points out, were former havens for the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC), an umbrella paramilitary group that demobilized during the peace process with the government between 2004 and 2007.
- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon offered ten million dollars to Guatemala to strengthen the National Agreement for the Advance of Security and Justice (Acuerdo Nacional para el Avance de la Seguridad y la Justicia) during his visit, elPeriodico reports. This includes support for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Comision Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala - CICIG) and the Public Ministry, which is spearheading reform from within.
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