Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatista rebels in Mexico's southern Chiapas state released a new communique Dec. 28 reflecting on the history of the movement since the New Year's Day 1994 uprising that announced it. Marcos took aim at "the criminals of the Mexican political class," but also "the for-pay press" for distorted portrayals of the movement. The communique emphasized that members of the press will not be permitted to attend commemorations of the uprising that the rebels will be holding in their communities Jan. 1. The statement acknowledged that the revolution the Zapatistas announced in 1994 has not acheived its aims, but expressed determination to continue resistance: "In December 2013, it is just as cold as 20 years ago, and today, like back then, the same flag protects us: that of rebellion," Marcos wrote. (AFP, Jan. 1; Latin Times, Dec. 30)

Eight municipalities in southern Mexico's Chiapas state on Dec. 10 were declared territories free of mineral or hydro-electric development, asserting principles of local autonomy and prior consultation. The joint statement was issued by 56 communities, ejidos (communal agricultural settlements) and popular organizations in the municipalities of Tapachula, Motozintla, Huehuetán, Cacahoatán, Mazapa, Comalapa, Chicomuselo and Tuzantán. The officially notarized statement directed to President Enrique Peña Nieto, Chiapas Gov. Manuel Velasco Coello and other authorities protested illegal entry onto communal lands by personnel from development interests, attempts at corruption of local officials, the pending neoliberal reform of the energy sector, and high electric rates. The statement was read aloud in a public gathering in the central plaza of Tapachula—after which, hundreds of attendees occupied the town's municipal palace to demand that the mayor endorse the statement.

The Peruvian blogosphere is abuzz with rumors of an imminent coup d'etat against President Ollanta Humala, fomented by elements of the opposition APRA party. Humala has reportedly put off all travel abroad and is limiting his trips into the interior of the country, staying close to Lima for fear of a move against his government if he leaves the capital. The National Intelligence Directorate (DINI) has reportedly warned that elements of the National Police are discussing a strike over various greivances, actually aimed at causing an explosion of chaos and debilitating the government—following the model of the right-wing coup of Feb. 5, 1975, that brought Francisco Morales Bermúdez to power. Humala is said to have lost the confidence of the Armed Forces Joint Command, which is unhappy with his execution of the counter-insurgency program in Apurímac-Ene River Valley (VRAE), where a remnant faction of the Sendero Luminoso guerillas remains active. (Raúl Weiner in La Mula, Dec. 23)

Arizona-based Southern Copper is set to restart work at its controversial $1 billion Tía María copper project in Arequipa, Peru, within the next 90 days, Mines and Energy Minister, Jorge Merino said following a public meeting with local residents Dec. 19. Merino told Andina news agency that receiving support from the local community is “a big step forward," adding that it shows how "dialogue and coordinated efforts from national, regional and local authorities can make mega-projects happen." Peru's government sees the Tia Maria project as critical to boosting investment in the mineral sector. "It will show we have made inroads to resolve conflicts that have delayed several mining projects in Peru over concerns by communities about their environmental impact," Merino said.

Forty-five family members of an Afro-Colombian man who was shot Dec. 16 in Medellin have been displaced from their homes following threats from illegal armed groups operating in their neighborhood. Víctor Adán Pacheco Palacios, the slain family patriarch, moved with his children and grandchildren to Medellín's poor and conflicted district of Comuna 13 two years ago from the Pacific coast department of Chocó, after being displaced from their homes by paramilitary violence. Medellín authorities suspect the shooting may have been retaliation for the refusal of Pacheco's sons to join an armed group operating in Comuna 13.

The Washington Post on Dec. 21 ran an in-depth report exposing CIA oversight of the Colombian government's campaign of targeted assassinations of guerilla leaders. Forces from the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) have also provided assistance to the program. The US assistance has transformed the Colombian military's "less-than-accurate" 500-pound gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs) or "smart bombs" by attaching a "$30,000 GPS guidance kit" to the gravity devices. The bombs have been used to kill around "two dozen rebel leaders," including Luis Edgar Devia Silva AKA Raúl Reyes. He was "considered to be the No. 2 in the seven-member FARC secretariat" and was killed in Ecuador—an operation that Ecuador's government strongly condemned as a violation of its sovereignty. The White House viewed it as an act of "self-defense" because Ecuador would not attack the FARC within its territory.

The long campaign of violence against organized labor in Colombia intensified in 2013. According to preliminary figures from the National Labor School (ENS), 26 unionists were assassinated this year for defending the rights of workers, with another 13 surviving attempts on their lives, and 149 receiving threats. This constitutes a 15% jump over the number of unionists assassinated in 2012. In December alone, two leaders of the National Federation of Public Servants (FENASER) were killed in Norte de Santander department. The ENS also cited 13 cases of "arbitrary detention" of unionists by the police. The findings were released on Dec. 10, the 65th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights. (Comfia.info, Spain, Dec. 20; Rojo i Negro, Spain, Dec. 13)

Indigenous campesinos in Colombia's Valle del Cauca department launched an occupation of the central square in Florida municipality Dec. 23 to protest a potable water project overseen by the privatized regional utility Acuavalle. The protesters charge that the project wll deliver water only to neighboring Candelaria municipality, violating Acuavalle's legal responsibility to provide their resguardo, Triunfo Cristal Paez, which lies within Florida. The Valle del Cauca Regional Indigenous Organization (ORIVAC) estabished an encampement in Florida's central square—in defiance of a curfew declared by municipal authorities in response to protests earlier this month. (El Pais, Cali, Dec. 23; El Pais, Dec. 4)