More than 950 relatives of inmates launched a protest occupation of a Venezuelan prison over the New Year holiday, saying they will refuse to leave the facility until authorities agree to their demand for faster trials for their loved ones. Prisons Minister Iris Varela sad the relatives decided to "kidnap themselves" at the Yare I and II prison about 70 kilometers southwest of Caracas. They include 800 women and 150 children and youth, as well as a few men. Varela said President Hugo Chávez has told authorities to negotiate peacefully. But, while Venezuela's prisons are dangerously overcrowded, Varela also alleged that human rights groups financed by the CIA are trying to use the occupation "to destabilize the country." (AP, Jan. 4)

Protests in Peru's north-central region of Cajamarca resumed on Jan. 2, with a thousand gathering in the city square to demonstrate against the Conga gold mining project. "We will mobilize in a peaceful protest in Cajamarca, in Hualgayoc, and in Celendín," said Wilfredo Saavedra, head of Cajamarca's Environmental Defense Front, referring to the municipalities to be impacted by the project. Canal N television reported that regional leaders are expected to decide whether to launch a new indefinite strike in the coming days. With negotiations with the administration of President Ollanta Humala at a stalemate, Cajamarca's regional council in the closing days of 2011 voted to declare the Conga project to be "unviable." The declaration stated the project "could cause irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems, in turn generating economic and social damage of incalculable magnitude, which clash directly with the fundamental rights of people living in these jurisdictions…" (Peru This Week, Jan. 3)

After a three-day delay, Peruvian authorities finally allowed US citizen Lori Berenson to leave Lima on Dec. 19 for a brief visit to her family in New York. A court had ruled earlier in the month that she could visit the US with her young son until Jan. 11; Berenson has been living in Lima on parole since May 2010 after serving almost 15 years of a 20-year sentence for collaborating with the leftist rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Berenson's first attempt to leave was blocked by immigration authorities at the Lima airport on Dec. 16, repeating a pattern of harassment and judicial irregularities that have marked her case since she was arrested in 1995. (AP, Dec. 20)

Even as the White House has censured Venezuelan officials for "narco-terrorist" ties, AP reported Dec. 15 that Venezuela handed a top Colombian drug trafficking suspect over to US authorities. The US had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco AKA "Valenciano." InsightCrime informs us that "Valenciano" led the "Oficina de Envigado" criminal organization, seen as a successor to the Medellín Cartel. He was arrested last month in Maracay, west of Caracas.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala called off the state of emergency in four provinces of Cajamarca region Dec. 16 after local leaders agreed to suspend their civil strike against Newmont Mining Corp.'s $4.8 billion Conga gold project. Prime Minister Oscar Valdés will lead a "high-level committee" to Cajamarca Dec. 19 to meet with regional officials and community leaders. Cajamarca's regional president Gregorio Santos announced suspension of the paro in the face of growing pressure; the state of emergency had blocked bank accounts and other financial services in the region. Village mayors and community leaders have agreed to comply with the suspension pending the outcome of talks.

The Colombian armed forces have created three new "joint task forces" aimed at targeting the core of the FARC guerilla army, reports Caracol Radio. A main aim of the task forces —which will coordinate the National Police with the army, the air force and the navy—will be to target the guerilla group's middle men, who are crucial to the financing of the rebel army. The task forces will focus on the departments of Cauca, Nariño, Norte de Santander and Arauca, where the FARC's presence is strongest. Their creation marks a first step in the implementation of a new strategy around territory control, requested by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in August to improve the armed forces' fight against illegal groups. The four task forces will report directly to armed forces commander Alejandro Navas, who has promoted the integratation of the security forces. (Colombia Reports, Dec. 12)

A deliberate strategy by Colombia's former intelligence agency to undermine NGOs and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has been revealed in secret documents. According to files discovered by Radio Caracol, the 2004 strategy by the Department of Administrative Security (DAS), dubbed "Operation Internet," aimed to generate controversy through the creation of fake NGOs that released targeted information online. The strategy reported directly to the president, at that time Alvaro Uribe, and was taxpayer-funded. Rafael Nieto Loaiza, who had recently left his post as vice-minister of the Interior, and José Miguel Narvaez, DAS vice-director, are listed as "direct support centers" for the operation.

Peru's Prime Minister Salomón Lerner resigned Dec. 10 after less than five months in the post—immediately after his failed attempts to negotiate an end to protests that have blocked the $4.8 billion Conga gold mining project in Cajamarca region. His resignation letter, posted online by the newspaper La Republica, does not make direct reference to the conflict but suggests Lerner was unhappy with the government's handling of it. The letter states that "our direct mandate has been dialogue and the seeking of consensus to avoid confrontation between Peruvians." But it charges that this aim "requires an adjustment of the general conduct of the government."