By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Pilots for Argentina’s infamous “death flights” have begun trial, and brought up on charges for crimes against humanity for their active participation in de facto president Jorge Rafael Videla’s “dirty war” that consumed the Latin American county for years.

From 1976-1983 during Videla’s reign as Argentina’s dictator, in addition to the armies kidnappings and murders, dissidents and  political prisoners were dragged from their cells in military detention, drugged and flown over the ocean and thrown from the plane.

The trial is expected to focus on the Naval School of Mechanics (Esma) which became a military detention center for leftist dissidents, of the 5,000 political prisoners sent there, more than 90% disappeared.

Among the 68 defendants – all ex-armed forces – set for trial are eight pilots who allegedly flew and participated in the flights which contributed to the murder and forced disappearance of hundreds of Argentinians.

The most famous on trial during this new set of trials is Alfredo Astiz. Convicted in 2011 – and serving a life sentence – for crimes against humanity, the pilot affectionately known as the “Blond Angel of Death” is facing new charges for his active participation in the force disappearance of prisoners in the infamous secret detention camps in Beunos Aires. In interviews Astiz showed no remorse, claiming that he “had acted to save Argentina from left-wing ‘terrorism’”, and he dismissed his trial as an act of political vengeance.

Many of these pilots have only recently been identified, some who have been identified by survivors from the Esma detention centers and others for lapses in judgment. Emir Sisul Hess, one of the pilots on trial admitted to co-workers how his victims “fell like little ants.” He has since formally denied any involvement in the flights.

Among those testifying are 70 survivors of Esma. One survivor, Carlos Munoz, who was detained at Esma for a year remembers  ” to have seen a room filled with vomit. I later found out that those who were going to be killed in the death flights were drugged and that those drugs made them throw up,” he continued, “At one point many of my cell mates disappeared and we were told they were moved somewhere else. We now know they were thrown in the water.”

Current President Cristina Kirchner has pledged to speed up and prosecute those involved with these human rights abuses. Many speculate that her commitment is linked to her husband, Nestor Kirchner who rescinded the laws that granted amnesty to security forces who participated in these military abuses.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Argentina Holds ‘Death Flights’ Trial – 29 November 2012

Bernma Malaysian National News Agency – Argentina Tries Alleged ‘Death Flights’ Pilots – 29 November 2012

Prensa Latina – Death Flight Pilots Prosecuted For The First Time In Argentina – 28 November 2012

SF Gate – Argentina’s ‘Death Flights’ Trials Begin – 28 November 2012

The Independent – Victims Of ‘Death Flights’: Drugged, Dumped By Aircraft – But Not Forgotten – 27 November 2012

BBC – Argentina ‘Angel Of Death’ Alfredo Astiz Convicted – 27 October 2011

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BEUNOS AIRES, Argentina – Work stoppage in Argentina has slowed the already ailing country to a standstill. A general strike organized by the two biggest trade unions brought the Latin American countries economic grain exports to a halt as demonstrators protested Argentina’s economic policies. The ‘General Confederation of Labor of the Argentine Republic’ (CGT) and ‘ Argentine Workers’ Central Union’ (CTA) organized a general strike that shut down public transportation and forced many businesses to shut down.

The ailing country has been in economic trouble for some time. In 2001 the country defaulted on a number of loan repayments, and according to the World Bank, Argentina’s economic growth has slowed from 9% in 2011 to just 2.2% in 2012.

Beyond protesting the increase in violence and crime the trade unions are demanding a decrease in income taxes to combat the high inflation they are now feeling at home. Officially, Argentina has an annual inflation of 10%, but some economists estimate that number to be closer to 24%.

Farming unions have joined the protests, led by Hugo Moyao, who is demanding lower taxes for workers hit hard by the un-tethered inflation.  Mayano has vowed to keep pressing the demands of the labor unions, telling reporters “The silence of the streets, the absence of people in the streets, in the shops, in the businesses – this is the voice that the government must hear.” The farming industry has been hit by unprecedented 35% export tax on Argentina’s most important export, soybean and soybean oil. Soybean oil is one of the main components to bio-fuel.

While President Cristina Fernandez has refused to back down, calling the strikers “extortionists” her opposition has latched on to the civil discourse. Many have hailed as the beginning of the end. Citing that she may have lost the streets, and despite decreasing the voting age from 18 to 16, have stated that they will do everything they can to stop her from seeking re-election.

The general strike has not been the completely non-violent demonstration that the trade unionists claim. Burned tires block roads, and protesters have used the chaos to vandalize businesses that stayed open during the work stoppages. A block away from the presidential palace, tourist attractions were forced to close after opportunists vandalized them.

While leaders of the strike are hopeful that the general strike will strengthen their position, President Fernandez has refused to give ground, citing the need to keep taxes were they are to payback the growing debt she inherited from previous administrations.

For further information, please see:

Los Andes – The Unions Expect Cristina Replies – 22 November 2012

Terra – Cristina Fernandez: “Impossible” to Stop Paying Debts Argentina – 22 November 2012

BBC – Argentina: Strike Paralyses Buenos Aires And Other Cities – 20 November 2012

Reuters – Argentina’s Fernandez Faces Her First General Strike – 20 November 2012

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