By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCRE, Bolivia – A packed judiciary made their decision this week, despite constitutional restrictions, President Evo Morales would be able to seek a third term as President of Boliva.

Following other Latin American leaders on the right and left, the Bolivian supreme court announced that despite term limits set forth by the Bolivian constitution, President Morales would be eligible to seek a third 5 year term after his current term expires. The language of the constitution allows that a Presidential candidate may only seek re-election once. However Supreme Court ruled that despite this being Morales second attempt at re-election, his first would not count as this was a new ratified constitution, that differed from the ones that were in place when Morales sought his initial term, and its subsequent re-election. Indicating that next year’s vote will be legally counted as Morales’ first re-election.

Opponents are claiming foul play are in order. The new constituoon was ratified via referendum in 2009, which lead many at the time to question whether Morales would attempt to circumvent the resitrictions. Insiders say that the constitution was only ratified because of a promise that Morales would not attempt to run for a third term. As for the court decision, opposition leader Samuel Doria Medina of the National Unity party accused the Morales government of stacking the judiciary in a way that favored Morales’ policies.

After the Constitutional Courts statement, the Senate of Bolivia immediately passed the Law Enforcement Legislation which would allow Evo Morales on the bill for the December 2014 Presidential election. The bill was passed quite quickly and is likely to be ratified by the parliamentary majority supporting Morales.

Should Morales win, he will be the longest sitting President in Andean politics, and be the longest sitting ruler in Bolivian history

For more information, please see:

La Republica – Evo Morales: Senate Approves Bill Allowing third Candidacy – 7 May 2013

Financial Times – Boliva court Clears Evo Morales’ bid To Run For Third Term – 30 April 2013

CNN – Court Clears Path For Bolivia’s Morales to Run For 3rd Term – 30 April 2013

Reuters – Court Allows Bolivia’s Morales To Seek Second Re-Election – 29 April 2013

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru – Forgotten, and alone, Juan Navarro languished in a Peruvian prison for 37 years without ever being convicted.  Charged with murder in 1976, he was incarcerated in the Lurigancho prison on August 3 of that year, where he would remain until his story was revealed, without a court date or trial.

His brain has to fail him as the 76 or possibly 78 year old man has the signs of dementia and can no longer remember details about his life. Only that he has been in prison surviving against the harsh conditions and that he has been incarcerated, “They ruined my teeth from so many hits and they chased me with a knife. … They wanted to slit my throat,” the problem with his incarceration, is that no one knows how he got to be there. Prison and judiciary  officials have no information or records concerning his imprisonment and confinement. A prison riot destroyed any records that would lead to information concerning his crime, or family.

Having spent 37 years in prison, he has officially spent more time in prison than Peruvian statutory regulations allow. Peruvian criminal sentencing statutes do not allow for a sentence over 35 years. Peruvian law also dictates that if you are imprisoned for over 36 months without an official sentence you would be freed. So even had Mr. Navarro been sentenced to the maximum possible sentence for the crime of murder, he would have had have been released two years ago. However these loopholes require someone to file paperwork on your behalf in order to streamline the process. Unfortunately until Mr. Navarro’s story was revealed on the radio, he had no family in order to file his writ.

These violations of habeas corpus are nothing new to Latin American prisons. According to the prison director at the San Pendro prison in Lima, only 1,291 prisoners of the approximately 8,6000 inmates have been sentenced.

Before anyone had the opportunity to file a writ of habeas corpus for Mr. Navarro the government took a proactive step and released the inmate. Demented and without family, Mr. Navarro has been taken in by residential care center that takes care of the elderly that have been forgotten and neglected by society.

For  more information, please see:

CNN – 37 Years In Prison, But Was He Sentenced? – 15 April 2013

La Republica – Freedom Granted To Oldest Lurigancho Prisoner – 11 April 2013

Peru 21 – Freed Old Man Who Was Imprisoned 37 Years Without Trial – 10 April 2013

RPP – Judiciary has Immediate Reease of Juan Navarro Acuna – 10 April 2013

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The fight against illegal immigration in the United States has forced human traffickers into the sea. One new shocking twist has led to a dangerous trend as human traffickers have begun abandoning poor migrant works at sea, at the mercy of the sea and the slim hope that either the U.S. coast guard or Mexican navy picks them up.

In the past decade the United States has taken to tightening the security across the land border, doubling the number of Border Patrol agents and building hundreds of miles of fences and barriers in order to combat the stem of illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Illegal human traffickers and drug traffickers have remained consistent with their attempts to continuing their illegal importation, and have increasingly taken to the seas. However smuggling hundreds of migrant workers at a dock or abandoned beach is complicated and dangerous as an operation, leaving a high chance of being discovered, leading to another option, abandoning the cargo at sea.

With traffickers demanding high operating fees beforehand, there is little reason for them to finish the operation. At sea, they will feign engine trouble or radio trouble and force the migrants on to small boats without food or radios and tell them that they will return for them, without any intention of doing so. The Mexican navy has in the past months found an average of 10-12 boats of the coast of Baja California with wayward seafarers presumably abandoned by the smugglers.

With estimates of upwards of 300,000 migrants smuggled into the United States each year, the trend of sea smuggling is a shocking one. In order to battle this new frontier, it is likely that the coast guards and border patrols will likely need increased resources in order to watch the high seas. But either way, sources have indicated that there is likely going to be a “Dramatic increase now in drowning and other kinds of water fatalities and other kinds of danger associated with crossing in the water.”

The problem has become so perverse that Mexican maritime authorities have issued a warning “Do not allow yourself to be fooled and put your life at risk by leaving it in the hands of people without scruples whose only goal is obtaining money without caring about the lives of other human beings.”

One survivor indicated that she agreed to pay $12,000 to be smuggled via boat into the United States. She was found abandoned in a 31-foot vessel in the New Port harbor.

For more information, please see:

Fox News Latino – Smugglers Abandoning Migrants At Sea, Mexico Says – 30 April 2013

CNN – Mexico: Traffickers Abandoning Immigrants At Sea – 29 April 2013

UNODC – Migrant Smuggling – 1 January 2012

CNN – Mexican Smugglers Use Pacific As New Route – 23 September 2009

 

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Hugo Chavez’s handpicked legacy has a lot of work in front of him. As Nicholas Maduro was sworn in earlier this week he already faces immense hardships. Maduro is inheriting food and medical shortages, chronic power outages, one of the world’s highest homicide rates, potential electoral fraud and a constituency that doesn’t respect him.

After Chavez’s death, Hugo seemed like the obvious choice. Vice President and acting President Maduro was poised to retake the presidency as emergency elections were instated. However Maduro lacked the pure charisma that Chavez used to unite the country behind, and many thought he would face problems getting voters back in the booth. Gaffes, and accusations were levied at him by opposition aimed to discredit him and build the base of opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

A former bus driver, without a college degree, the most telling story that arose from Venezuelan media, was the “very small bird” who gave him his blessing to become President. Maduro told newspapers, that after Chavez’s death a bird in Barinas communicated to him via whistling the spirit of Hugo Chavez, giving him the drive to be President.

Spirituality aside, Maduro was not able to ignite the fire in the voters as Chavez was. Unlike 60+% Win by Chavez over Capriles, Maduro officially beat Capriles by 200,000 votes, or less than 2 percent. Even before the voting had been tallied, many were calling foul play. Stories arose of uncounted votes, ballot boxes thrown in ditches and strong arming from local motorcycle gangs of “Chavistas” or supporters of Chavez.

In order to appease the frantic the dissidents within the country, an audit of the electoral process was demanded and agreed to before Maduro was sworn in, a process that would take approximately a month to complete. Opposition candidate believes there is enough evidence due to the ballot irregularities to believe he has won the election.

The audit was demanded by Capriles, backed by the United States, and urged on by Brazil and the Union of Southern American Countries, insisting that Maduro’s legacy is not shadowed by doubt. The accuracy of the audit however is another issue; many doubt whether it will produce a fair outcome considering Venezuela’s shaky past. In Chavez’ decade and a half reign, individuals were stripped of their right to free speech and due process, lowered the reach of the judiciary, and helped eliminate independent media sources.

For more information, please see:

Wall Street Journal – Latin Leaders Abandon Democracy In Venezuela – 21 April 2013

BBC – Venezuela Election Official Plays Down Vote Audit – 20 April 2013

Fox News Latino – Venezuela’s Maduro Endures Rough Inauguration Day – 20 April 2013

Huffington Post – Nicolas Maduro Assures Hugo Chavez Appeared To Him As A ‘Little Bird’ To Bless Him (VIDEO) – 3 April 2013

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BOGOTA, Colombia – There is an upcoming demonstration scheduled in London from people in Colombia, Mongolia, South Africa and the United States against the largest mining companies. The mining companies are accused of polluting the environment, affecting people’s health and forcing communities to migrate due to their operations.

The owners of Cerrejón, a coal mine in northern Colombia, are accused of devastating the health of about 13,000 people who live near the mine.

Julio Gomez, the president of Fecodemigua (Federation of Communities Displaced by Mining in La Guajira) said,”We have had to suffer the impacts of opencast coal mining for over 25 years now. Our communities have been gradually and systematically asphyxiated by the contamination caused by coal mining, our societies [have been] fractured.”

The mine has been opened since 1985 and plans on increasing its production by 25% in three years. Britain has increased imports of Colombian coal by 48%. The mine is the largest in South America. The mine has gone through labor disputes, complaints of management, pollution, and for failure to compensate communities that have been affected by its operations. The mine was shut down by a strike for 32 days this year. Mine workers suffered from back problems and respiratory infections.

“The health of everyone in La Guajira within 5km of the area of mining and transport of coal is being severely affected: studies [show] the constant exposure to coal dust is clearly linked to the increase in illnesses,” said Gomez.

The owners of Cerrejón, Anglo American, have been accused of destroying communities due to expansion. Five villages have been displaced due to the mine’s operations. The affected communities mostly include those of the Wayuu people. The Wayuu have lived in the area before the Spanish conquest. The Wayuu have been forced to resettle to other villages. The indigenous Afro-Colombian people have also been displaced due to the mine. The people that did not relocate suffer from polluted soil, which prevents them from growing their crops.

An Anglo American spokesman said, “Anglo American works tirelessly to ensure we observe the highest international standards, whether relating to human rights, environmental sensitivities and social issues, both in our wholly owned and jointly owned operations.”

Critics of Anglo American advocate for the displaced people and miners who try to stop the rapidly expanding mining industry and demand better conditions for the people who live in the surrounding areas.

For further information, please see:

Guardian — Colombian miners hit out at Anglo American – 15 April 13

El Heraldo — Corpoguajira opens investigation against Cerrejón – 12 April 13

El Herlado — Cerrejon says that manages protection for threatened members Sintracarbón – 9 April 13

New Internationalist — Bringing Colombian coal mining back home to London – 9 April 13