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REPORT: UNIONISTS FACE DEATH, ATTACKS IN CENTRAL AMERICA
August 7, 2019

At least five union activists were murdered in Guatemala in 2018, and union leaders and members in Guatemala and Honduras suffered dozens of incidents over the past year for standing up for worker rights, including restriction of union rights, intimidation, harassment, illegal detention, death threats and attempted murder, according to two new reports.

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News Article
Agroecology: the wellbeing of people, the wellbeing of the planet
August 5, 2019

‘Agroecology is a revolution! …we are killing the Earth…the most urgent task we face is the search for ways to protect it. ’ Marlen Sanchez, director, Latin American Agroecology Institute (IALA), Nicaragua

From 11 to 21 July, Friends of the ATC, a solidarity organisation with the Nicaraguan Rural Workers Association (ATC), hosted a ‘Solidarity with Nicaragua’ delegation with twelve participants from the US and UK.

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News Article
President of Honduras implicated in $1.5 million drug money conspiracy by New York prosecutor
August 3, 2019
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was identified on August 2 as a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking and money laundering case against his brother, according to document filed in U.S. district court. Prosecutors say $1.5 million in drug proceeds was used to help elect him in 2013. Hernández responds saying he is a foe of traffickers who are out for revenge against him.
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RRN Letter
Colombia 08/02/2019
August 2, 2019
paramilitary violence being waged in the port city of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department. We are concerned that local security forces are complicit in allowing paramilitaries to take control over several districts of Buenaventura. The ongoing violence in Buenaventura is a clear example of how impunity for paramilitary actors threatens the true possibility of peace.
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RRN Letter
El Salvador 08/01/2019
August 1, 2019
threats, and online harassment that have intensified during the past several weeks against journalists Bessy Ríos and Karen Fernández and Mariana Belioso. Each has expressed concerns about adverse human rights impacts of the government’s new “plan de control territorial” which will increase police and military presence in certain regions.
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News Article
Sao Paulo Forum declares support for Nicaragua, opposes US intervention
August 1, 2019

Sao Paulo Forum declares support for Nicaragua, opposes US intervention

The Sao Paulo Forum, meeting in Caracas from 25-28 July, passed the following resolution on Nicaragua:-

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News Article
We need your support to build dignified homes with the community of Paso Puente
July 30, 2019
IRTF friends at the CIS in San Salvador have committed to building 15 of the desperately needed homes in the community of Paso Puente. Most of the families are headed by mothers living on about $3 per day from washing other people’s clothes. CIS, which has worked in a neighboring community for many years, is building trust with residents, getting more children into school, and identifying skilled laborers. Folks there are building their own homes, but they need us to support them!
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News Article
ACLU: Administration Is Still Separating Migrant Families Despite Court Order To Stop
July 30, 2019
The ACLU said that more than 900 parents and children, including babies, have been separated by U.S. border authorities since U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee in San Diego, ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 children with their parents more than a year ago. "It is shocking that the Trump administration continues to take babies from their parents," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "The administration must not be allowed to circumvent the court order over infractions like minor traffic violations."
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News Article
Forcing Guatemala into a 'safe third country' agreement is jaw-droppingly insane
July 29, 2019
Under U.S. and international law, the United States is obligated to hear asylum requests unless an alternative "safe third country" is stipulated through a bilateral agreement. Such a "safe third country" must provide security and due process for asylum seekers. Trump officials tried initially to pressure Mexico to sign a safe third country agreement, but the Mexican government balked, even as it capitulated to Trump's tariff threats and stepped up efforts to interdict Central American migrants. So, the Trump administration turned to strong-arming Guatemala.
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News Article
Colombians march to protest against killing of activists
July 27, 2019
Thousands take to streets in cities across Colombia demanding government action over the killing of social leaders.
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