By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA—The United Nations demanded the release of Milagro Sala, an indigenous activist, claiming the Argentine government arbitrarily detained her.  Milagro Sala was detained on January 16, 2016 while protesting reforms implemented by Jujuy’s provincial government.

Milagro Sala was arrested for “inciting criminal acts” in connection to the protests she has led against the government, specifically her attempt to block roads around the municipal buildings in San Salvador de Jujuy. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention report identified “a system of consecutive accusations and court cases that maintain Sala’s detention indefinitely and violate judicial independence.” The report continues by stating that there is no legal justification for her detention and “it has not been demonstrated that there is a risk of escape or of obstruction of the investigation.” A judge had ruled for Sala’s release on January 29th, but three days before her release, she was charged with extortion, fraud, and conspiracy. In addition, the report claims that the State blocked her right to defense by not informing her of the charges or the crimes accused of.

The United Nations is demanding the immediate release of Sala and for an investigation of the violations of her rights. The UN has asserted her detention was based on her exercising her human rights.

Milagro Sala is the head of the 70,000 member Tupac Amaru organization, as well as a representative in Parlasur, the parliamentary institution of the Mercosur trade bloc for South America. Sala has protested against President Mauricio Macri’s government since he took office. Sala is his administration’s first political prisoner. She was a supporter of former President Cristina Fernandez, who was accused of mismanaging money by constructing lower income housing in Jujuy province.

Many in Argentina have protested President Macri’s cuts in education, jobs, revisions to the tax and tariff rate, and the expansion of privileges for commercial exporters at the cost of farmers.

For more information, please see:

The Argentina Independent—UN Work Group Demands Milagro Sala’s Release—28th October 2016.

Telesur—UN Demands Argentina release Indigenous Leader Milagro Sala—28 October 2016.

Washington Post—UN Panel Tells Argentina to Release Activist Milagro Sala—28 October 2016.

La Nacion—La Carta de Milagro Sala en la que Pidió Jurar Como Diputada de Parlasur Desde la Cárcel—03 November 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Warning: this article contains graphic details

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA—Thousands poured out to the streets of Argentina, wearing black, demanding an end to violence against women. The protestors called it “Black Wednesday”—a movement sparked by the brutal death of 16-year old Lucia Perez.

According to various news outlets, Lucia Perez was abducted by three men outside her High School in Mar del Plata. The men held Lucia against her will, drugged her with large amounts of cocaine and marijuana, gang raped her, penetrated her with a wooden pole, causing her internal organs to bleed, and from the pain she went into cardiac arrest. The men washed her, changed her clothes, and took her to a medical facility stating she had overdosed on drugs. Upon inspection by the medical staff, it was apparent she had been sexually assaulted—Lucia died immediately upon arrival.

Maria Isabel Sanchez, lead prosecutor, stated: “I know it’s not very professional to say this, but I am a mother and a woman and I have seen a thousand things in my career, but never anything equal to this litany of abhorrent acts.”

As a response to the gruesome death of Lucia, Argentina mobilized to change the culture of machismo prevalent throughout the nation. Protestors held signs, “Ni Una Menos” which translates to “Not one less.” Protestors called upon Argentines to strike for an hour, “In your office, school, hospital, law court, newsroom, shop, factory, r wherever you are working, stop for an hour to demand, ‘no more machista violence.’” In solidarity, other countries joined in the movement by protesting, including Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

The Ni Una Menos organization announced that, “one woman is killed every 30 hours in Argentina for being a woman.” Supreme Court Judge, Elena Highton de Nolasco, told the media: “cases of femicide are growing in number, they are becoming more violent, more perverse- we even had the news today that there have been 19 femicides in the last 18 days.”

For more information, please see:

The Guardian—Argentina’s Women Joined Across South America in Marches Against Violence—19 October 2016.

The Washington Post: How A Schoolgirl’s Brutal Rape and Murder United the Women of Argentina—19 October 2016.

BBC—Argentine Women Strike After Fatal Rape of Teenage—20 October 2016.

CNN—Women Protest Rape, Killing of Teenage Girl in Argentina—20 October 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, PERU—On Friday, a farmer, Quintino Cerceda Huilca, was shot in the head and killed by police during a clash in the highland region of Apurimac. Congressman Richard Arce, who represents the region, confirmed the death caused by police officers attempting to clear the road.

An estimated 200 villagers protested the Chinese company, MMG Ltd’s $10-billion Las Bambas copper mine, for changing its environmental plan. The protestors had been blocking the road leading to Las Bambas copper mine for nearly a week. They were met by police dressed in riot gear. A community lawyer stated that about 21 to 34 local community members were injured, including some with bullet wounds. In addition to the injured, 12 protestors were arrested. Peru’s interior ministry released a statement claiming that they lamented the death of the farmer. The office also stated that 20 policemen were injured during the clash and the matter is under investigation. This was the first death related to a mining protest.

A community spokesman stated, “The community has never disagreed with the project. They are not anti-mining. The issue is that they cheated us, they lied to use. The ore was going to go through a pipeline, not trucks that are polluting the fields.” The remote community claims that an estimated 300 trucks pass through the area every day affecting their way of life, including their livestock. In addition, some of the demonstrators have stated that some of their communal land had been used without permission to construct a paved road leading to the mine.

Peru’s economy has grown within the past year due to copper production. La Bamba mine is expected to make Peru the second largest copper producer in the world. La Bamba alone produced 35,000 tonnes of copper in August.

Reuters—One Killed in Peru Protests Against Las Bambas Copper Mine—14 October 2016.

America Economia—Al Menos Una Persona Muere Durante Protesta Contra Minera de Cobre La Bambas en Peru—15 October 2016.

Peru Reports—Peru Police Kill Protester Near Las Bambas Copper Mine—15 October 2016.

TeleSur–Mining-Related Clash with Police Leaves One Dead in Peru—15 October 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA—The Colombian government announced it will resume peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the second largest rebel group in Colombia. The largest rebel group being FARC. The talks will commence in Quito, Ecuador on October twenty-seventh.

The ELN announced they were ready to negotiate with the government in March, but the process was never formalized, until now. ELN in a brief statement from Caracas, Venezuela announced it would release two captives the group has been holding for months. On Monday, ELN released a rice farmer, Nelson Alarcon, to the International Red Cross. He was held captive for months. Nelson Alarcon was the third person released in the past two weeks near the Colombian border. One of the remaining captives is politician Odin Sanchez, for whom ELN has been demanding a 1 million ransom. Odin Sanchez stepped in as a captive for his brother who was being held for ransom. ELN has stated it will release their captives before the talks begin and no longer committee kidnaps. ELN has an estimated 1,500-2,500 fighters that first formed in 1964 during the Cuban revolution. The organization is composed of urban students and intellectuals. They have financed their efforts through extortion and kidnapping.

The peace talks will be led by Colombian government delegate Mauricio Rodriguez and ELN commander Pablo Beltran. The countries that will be guarantors of the process include Venezuela, Cuba, Norway, Chile, Brazil, and Ecuador. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated, “This is a source of encouragement to the Colombian people and all those involved in supporting a peaceful and comprehensive end to conflict.”

President Juan Manuel Santos all announced in a televised address that, “Now that we’re advancing with the ELN our peace will be a fuller one.”

Colombia Reports—ELN Peace Talks to Begin on October 27, Guerrillas vow to Release Hostages First—10 October 2016.

The New York Times—Colombia Reviews Stalled Peace Talks With ELN Rebels—10 October 2016.

BBC—Colombia and ELN Rebels Announce Historic Peace Talks—11 October 2016.

UN New Centre—Colombia: Ban Welcomes Announcement of Talks between Government and National Liberation Army—12 October 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Caracas, Venezuela—Once a model health system in Latin America, Venezuela is experiencing a deteriorating medical system where basic care is impossible. The country is running short on 85 percent of medicines according to the national drugstore trade group.

The local market has stopped producing basic needs. The healthy are falling ill and dying. According to government statistics, one in three people admitted to public hospitals died in 2015. Families are scrambling through out the country to find medicine to treat the ill. Hundreds are waiting outside pharmacies in hopes of finding medicine such as antibiotics or ibuprofen. The government has refused to allow humanitarian groups to enter the country or to assist the country with medical supplies. Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro claims that the medical crisis is a political scheme created by opposing party members against the socialist revolution.

According to Dr. Huniades Urbina-Medina who works at Jose Manuel de Los Rios Children Hospital stated that his hospital used to be the best in all of Venezuela but today it does not have enough drugs to treat ill patients. He stated that “five years ago we had an average of 200 patients waiting to be operated on. At the last count, there were more than 5,500 names on the waiting list. We have nine operating rooms, but, today, only four are fully functional.”

Children are the victims of the medical crisis. For example, Ashley Pacheco, a three-year old toddler, scraped her knee, a few days later it turned into a life-threatening staph infection that was difficult to cure because of the lack of medicine, diagnostic machines, and a functioning operating room with a waitlist of 150 children.

In addition, 30 percent of the children in Venezuela are suffering from malnutrition. And there is a high chance of babies dying due to the mother’s inability to provide children basic nutrients like powdered milk. With a failing economy the situation worsens.

For more information, please see:

BBC—Venezuela Crisis: Caracas Hospital Shows Sorry State of Health System—9 October 2016.

Fox News Latino—Venezuela’s Health Care is Such a Failure, Scraped Knee Turns Into Medical Crisis—04 October 2016.

Washington Post—A Child’s Scraped Knee a Life or Death Matter in Venezuela—4 October 2016.