By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – Early Thursday, a four month investigation came to a head when Chile’s Investigative police (PDI) raided, uncovered and shutdown a child prostitution ring in downtown Santiago.

The network prostituted girls from the ages of 12-17. They were then sent to clients’ homes and neighborhoods to engage in their illicit business.

While prostitution is not technically illegal in Chile, the prostitution of children is, as is the operation of a brothel. And police shut down two underground brothels in conjunction with their investigation. Subsequent raids were launched throughout the night, with a strike force of about 60 officers who began arresting clientele.

This raid and subsequent arrests are due to President Sebastian Pinera’s much lauded mandate to combat child sex abuse. To effectively combat this, they have begun a system similar to the United States convicted sex offenders database, along with banning convicted pedophiles from working with or near children.

A client list was also uncovered, and those listed on its rolls should be worried. Whether intentional or through negligent leaks, the names of famous clients have been revealed to the media. Ranging from former mayoral candidate of the Christian Democrat Party to the creator of a popular children’s’ comic book, who when arrested and questioned denied all allegations to having relations with a minor. He insisted that he paid the brothel for “a girl over 18 years of age.” However the big name seems to be Jaime Román, a local television personality and music producer. According to police reports he was actively having sex with a minor when police broke down his door. These infamous individuals were arrested during the subsequent raids which raised the arrested number up to 19.

Of the 19 arrested, five were arrested at the brothel and will be subsequently charged for obtaining sexual services from minors, while the owners will be charged with the prostitution of minors.

The Christian Democracy party has formally denounced the formal mayoral candidate, and if found guilty noted that “[W]e declare that any member of the Christian Democracy involved in this kind of case, will be expelled from the party.”

The shocking information revealed by the investigation is that many of the girls abused and active in the child prostitution ring were there with their parents’ knowledge, and their parent’s permission. The Interior Minister has condemned the actions of all those involved, but it is uncertain at this moment what levels of liability the parents may face.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Chile Police Raid ‘Child Prostitution Ring’ in Santiago – 16 November 2012

I Love Chile News – Child Exploitation Ring Busted In Santiago – 16 November 2012

Santiago Times – Chile’s Investigate Police Uncover Child Prostitution Ring – 16 November 2012

La Segunda Online – Thwart Child Prostitution Ring: Today Formalized 19 Arrested – 16 November 2012

I Love Chile News – My Two Cents: Cafe con Piernas – Legs with your Coffee? – 26 October 2012

 

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 QUITO, Ecuador – The Galapagos National Park Authority (DPNG) is working with other conservation groups to affect Phase II of their mission to eradicate all invasive rodent species on the archipelago, before 2020, by dropping nearly 22 tons of poison onto Pinzón and Plaza Sur Islands.

The capacity of the DPNG has allowed for the control, but not the elimination of invasive rodent species, on the islands over the past four decades.  This operation, with an estimated cost of $180 million in this phase alone, aims to achieve just that.

“It’s one of the worst problems the Galápagos have. [Rats] reproduce every three months and eat everything,” said Juan Carlos González, a specialist involved in the second phase of the program.

“This is a very expensive, but totally necessary war,”  González added.

The tactical approach to the rodent elimination is technical and systematic.  The helicopters that will drop the poison are equipped with high precision satellite global positioning systems (GPS), which allow the pilot to maintain complete control over the application of the poison.  Specific routes, meant to cover the entirety of the islands, are cross-referenced with the GPS data to ensure complete coverage is achieved.  Reapplication will take place 7 days after the first application to make sure all the rodents are killed.

Phase I of the anti-rat campaign began in January 2011 on Rábida island, and about a dozen islets, which like Pinzón and Plaza Sur are uninhabited by humans.  Eventually the non-native black rats, Norwegian rats and house mice will be exterminated on all the islands, with the islands where humans live, Isabela and Santa Cruz, coming last.

The offending rodents, introduced by whalers and buccaneers beginning in the 17th century, feed on the eggs and hatchlings of the islands’ native species, which include giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas. Rats have also depleted plants on which native species feed.

The rats have left bird species critically endangered on the 19-island cluster 600 miles (1,000km) from Ecuador’s coast.

The rat infestation has now reached about 10 per square metre (one per square foot) on Pinzón, where an estimated 180 million rodents reside.

The project has various mechanisms built in that are intended to mitigate the affect on native species.

The poisoned bait, developed by Bell Laboratories in the United States, is contained in light blue cubes that attract rats but are repulsive to other inhabitants of the islands. The one-centimeter-square cubes disintegrate in about 8 days.

A total of 34 hawks from Pinzón were trapped in order to protect them from eating rodents that consume the poison, Sevilla said. They are to be released in early January.

On Plaza Sur, 40 iguanas were also captured temporarily for their own protection.

Asked whether a large number of decomposing rats would create an environmental problem, Rueda said the poison was specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant that would make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days without a stench.

It will help that the average temperature of the islands is 24C (75F), he added.

The Galápagos, whose finches famously inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, were declared protected as a Unesco natural heritage site in 1978. In 2007, Unesco declared them at risk due to harm from invasive species, tourism and immigration.

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Ecuador drops poison on Galápagos Islands in attempt to eradicate rats – 15 November 2012

International Business Times – 180 million Rats on Galapagos Islands to be Killed – 15 November 2012

KLFM 96.7 – Rat Massacre: Galapagos Islands To Kill Millions – 15 November 2012

UK Daily Mail – Ecuador drops 20 tons of poison on Galapagos Islands to wipe out rats and save unique native species that inspired Darwin – 15 November 2012

Parque Nacional del Galápagos – DPNG implementa plan para erradicar roedores de Pinzón y Plaza Sur – 11 November 2012

By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – Another 13 people have been killed in gangland war that has consumed São Paulo. At least 130 people have died as the violence has increased between police and members of the gang known as First Command of the Capital (PCC).

Multiple executions and assaults have commenced since gang leaders have apparently ordered this new wave of violence. Within the last week 51 people have been executed in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. While many of these are have been attributed to random and targeted shootings and drive-bys there has been a trend of specifically targeting the infrastructure of the city by destroying buses.

The nights have become dangerous, with state officials and police officers alike fearing what the darkness brings. Every evening criminals strike with stolen vehicles and deadly weapons seizing buses and burning them to the ground. On Friday evening five individuals approached and boarded a bus. As it was driving towards the next stop the passengers revealed themselves with  nefarious intent and assaulted the driver, stealing his wallet and careening the bus towards awaiting passengers before torching the bus. This reign of terror has spread throughout the São Paulo as 12 gang related homicides have become necessary casualties in the gang war. One unidentified officer told officials “I do not walk more with my son.” Continuing that “[T]hey come in cowardice, with very heavy weapon[s].” She continues that her life is clearly at risk in the heightened state of violence.

This targeted level of increased violence has led to prosecutors imploring for PCC leaders to be moved and separated from the general population of the local prisons. However, caution must be implored as last time this was attempted in 2006 the PCC issued orders that lead to riots and violence and the deaths of nearly 500 people.

Yet Geralod Alckmin, governor of São Paulo believes that not all the violence can be attributed to the PCC as other criminal groups may be taking advantage of the crime wave being conducted, or simply the levels of violence common to the large Brazilian city.

While the death count is hard to track and different newspapers have made different estimates, the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo” estimated 159 victims to the specific PCC crime wave.

Approximately 90 officers having been killed in the city since the beginning of the year. This is has led many police officers to question their own safety and that of their families.

For further information, please see:

Correio do Brasil – São Paulo Has Another Violent Night, With Seven Dead And Three Buses Torched – 10 November 2012

Glovo National Journal – In One Week, More Than Fifty People Are Executed In Sao Paulo – 10 November 2012

Ultimo Segundo – Enough To Seven Deaths In Greater São Paulo – 10 November 2012

Ultimo Segundo – On Another Night Of Violence, São Paulo Has 5 More Deaths And Buses Torched – 10 November 2012

BBC – Brazil: 13 New Deaths In Sao Paulo’s Gang Battle – 9 November 2012

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – 10 peasant farmworkers were brutally massacred in the northwestern region of the country Wednesday evening, allegedly for failure to make an extortion payment to a violent paramilitary successor group, which gunned them down in a scene described by a local official as “something out of hell.”

After the farmworkers had finished picking fruit for the day, three men approached the farm’s foreman and asked if the owner had been paying protection money.  When he replied that they didn’t know of any payment, the men opened fired, indiscriminately shooting, first handguns, then rifles, and finally launching a hand grenade at the farmworkers, according to one survivor.

“This case has shocked us for the barbaric, brutal way that they murdered these completely innocent people,” said Police Gen. David Guzman.  9 men and 1 woman were killed in the massacre.

The owner of the farm, in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Osos, about 275 kilometres (170 miles) northeast of the capital of Bogotá, was apparently being extorted by a paramilitary group, local officials said.

Local officials and police, from Santa Rosa de Osos, suspect that the bloodbath was the work of a violent offshoot of the Norte del Valle cartel, involved in drug trafficking, extortion and murder.

Known as paramilitary successor groups, these criminal bands are heavily armed drug-trafficking gangs that emerged following the ostensible demobilization of the AUC militia federation in 2006.

The group thought to be responsible in this case, Los Rastrojos or The Scraps, is also blamed for the last major massacre in Colombia, in August of 2009, where 12 members of the Awa indigenous tribe were killed in southwestern Narino state.  Yesterday’s massacre took place in the northwestern Antioquia province, roughly 200 miles from Narino.

A report from the Indepaz think tank released in February said the paramilitary successor groups Los Rastrojos, Los Urabeños, Las Aguilas Negras, Los Paisas and ERPAC had a presence last year in 406 municipalities in 31 Colombian provinces.

Meaning, the groups have expanded their influence by 147 municipalities from 2008, when they were active in 259 of the Andean nation’s 1,110 municipalities.

Local businessmen from Santa Rosa de Osos, have reported a rise in extortion in the area.

They have recounted how members of criminal gangs have been going around the area demanding payments, which they adjust according to the earnings of each individual victim.

According to their reports, the payments have varied from $50 for day laborers to $50,000 for owners of large agricultural businesses.

Francisco Jair Lopera, mayor of Santa Rosa de Osos, called the massacre a source of national shame.

A National Police spokesperson said the regional National Police commander, Col. Jose Gerardo Acevedo, traveled Wednesday night to the massacre site, at La España tamarillo farm, to coordinate efforts to track down the assailants.

For further information, please see:

The Associated Press – 10 peasants killed in Colombian massacre – 8 November 2012

BBC News – Ten Colombian farmworkers killed ‘by extortion gang’ – 8 November 2012

Hispanically Speaking News – Blog del Narco: 10 Farmworkers Massacred by Colombian Drug Trafficking Gang – 8 November 2012

Huffington Post – Los Rastrojos, Colombia Drug Cartel, Massacre 10 Peasants Near Bogota – 8 November 2012

Latin American Herald Tribune – 10 Farmworkers Massacred in Colombia – 8 November 2012

The Province – 10 peasants killed by drug-trafficking paramilitaries in Colombia’s worst massacre since 2009 – 8 November 2012

SF Gate – 10 peasants killed in Colombia massacre – 8 November 8, 2012

The Washington Post – 10 peasants killed by drug-trafficking paramilitaries in Colombia’s worst massacre since 2009 – 8 November 2012

 

 

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina recently made a bold move and passed a new measure lowering the Latin Nations voting age to 16.

Passed by overwhelming support by the representatives of the lower house, it passed the Argentinian Chamber of Deputies early last week. However the discussion turned bitter as deputies from the Chamber saw accusations fly between members before the opposition walked out in disgust. Without any opposition left in the chamber the resolution passed 131 to 2.

Lauded by the younger generation, they will now follow Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua whose citizens can vote at age 16. Voting is compulsory for all argentines aged 18 and older, which includes some 29 million people. However it will be optional for those aged 16 and 17, which will grant the vote to 1.2 million more Argentinians for the 2013 election.

Critics believe that it was made with the intent of boosting the incumbent President Cristina Fernandez’s chances in her re-election campaign for 2013.  opponents have said this change is designed to increase support for the Victory Front coalition in the 2013 legislative elections. With greater support in both houses, these opponent s believe it is being made with the intention of allowing Fernandez to run again for the presidency in 2015.

While the Victory Front Coalition has a majority in both houses of Congress, she would need the support of two-thirds of legislators to change the constitution to allow the first female Argentinian president to seek a third term.

While President Fernandez has reiterated that she is simply expanding the liberties of the youth of Argentina. she has issued no comment on any plans to change the Argentinian constitution.

Despite this deputies in both house have gather over 100 signatures from the UCR, PRO and Socialism parties who have promised to vote down any constitutional reform which would allow president Fernandez to run for a new third term. However many of them will be no longer in the Chamber of Deputies when that happens, and many have speculated that the new youth vote will win new for the Victory Front Coalition.

Whatever occurs in the future, the youth of Argentina are static with their newfound civil liberties, This despite cynics who have referred to the youth as the one of the worst social problems in Argentina. Rep Eduardo Amadeo of the Peronist Front party continued “ Education is worse. The consumption of drugs is worse. Employment is worse…. and now the government has discovered them and they say, we are going to vote.”

For further information, please see:

Los Andes – Deputies Opponents Gathered 107 Signatures Against The Re-Election – 6 October 2012

BBC – Argentina Voting Age Lowered From 18 To 16 – 1 November 2012

Business Recorder  – Argentina Lowers Voting Age To 16 – 1 November 2012

Washington Post – Argentina Lowers Its Voting Age To 16 – 1 November 2012