Honduran security forces target and kill protesters while U.S. sits back On January 22nd, Witness for Peace issued its statement on the attack against Martín Fernández and the Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y Justicia (MADJ, or the Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice) on the night of January 20th. Since then, the level of violence has escalated further still, both in terms of the widespread and systematic human rights violations committed during in the post-election per

by Carlin Christy, Mexico Team This December 1st, it might have been possible for Mexicans to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The day will mark the official end of President Felipe Calderón’s 6 year term. His presidency is commonly referred to as “el sexenio de la muerte” or ‘the six year term of death,’ given the murders of around 80,000 people which began after Calderón launched a militarized war on drugs shortly after taking office in late 2006. However, a respite fro

By Austin Robles WFP Colombia Team Colombians often refer to their country as one of laws but without law enforcement. For communities engaged in the legal process of land restitution in the areas most plagued by the armed conflict, waiting for the law to be enforced takes years. One community, tired of waiting, decided to nonviolently reclaim part of their territory without aid from the Colombian government. Residents of the Humanitarian Zone of Caño Manso, located along the

by Moravia de la O, WFP Mexico This past Sunday, authorities found journalist Rene Orta Salgado’s body in the trunk of his car in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos. The day before, his family had reported the former correspondent for the daily El Sol de Cuernavaca as missing, after the 43 year old did not make it home that night. Ten days earlier, on World Press Freedom Day, the bodies of Gabriel Huge, Guillermo Luna, Esteban Rodriguez, and Irasema Becerra were recovered inside

By Christine Goffredo International Team – Nicaragua Witness for Peace Yesterday in Honduras’ capital city of Tegucigalpa, members of teachers’ unions, parents The shocking news raises questions about the role of United States funding to the Honduran military. Through the U.S.-funded Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), $13 million has already been promised to the Honduran military with the intention of combating narcotrafficking and gang-related violence.