The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) released findings Sept. 13 that 62.7% of Colombia's indigenous population—a total of some 890,00 people—is at risk of extinction. Of the 102 indigenous communities in Colombia, 66 are found to be under grave threat, from forces such as large-scale mining development and the country's ongoing armed conflict. The findings follow a ruling issued by Colombia's Constitutional Court three days earlier that the government has not done enough to protect its indigenous population, after a 2004 decision by the same body ordered that additional measures be taken. The court held that efforts made over the previous decade to improve security for indigenous peoples have been ineffective and insufficient. The ruling found that indigenous communities are continuously victimized by armed groups forcing them off of their land, and endemic health problems caused by resource exploitation on their traditional territories. However, in contrast to ONIC, the court identified 36 indigenous groups at risk of extinciton.

Colombian campesinos on Sept. 10 ended their national strike after more than two weeks, and lifted the road blockades they were still maintaining, chiefly in Cauca, Nariño, Putumayo and elsewhere in the south of the country. The organization coordinating the strike in this region, the National Agricultural and Popular Table of Dialogue and Accord (MIA), agreed to recognize a pact already won in talks between the government and campesino organizations in Boyacá, Cundinamarca and elsewhere in the central region of the country. United Nations observers who had been brought in for the dialogue process confirmed that all protest roadblocks had been dismantled. (EFE, Sept. 11; El Tiempo, Bogotá, Sept. 7)

A sudden massive blackout on Sept. 3 affected 15 of Venezuela's 23 states, affecting 70% of the national territory and causing traffic chaos as traffic lights went out. The Electrical Energy Ministry said one of the main transmission lines on the national grid had failed. President Nicolás Maduro immediately blamed sabotage, saying "all signs indicate that the extreme right has implemented its plan to carry out an Electrical Coup [Golpe Eléctrico] against the nation." The blackout struck at peak hours in Caracas, around 1 PM local time, and also affected cities Maracay, Maracaibo and Barcelona. The nation's oil refineries, which are powered by a separate grid, were not affected. Venezuela has repeatedly experienced rolling blackouts in recent years. In 2010, then-president Hugo Chávez signed a decree declaring an "electricity emergency" to address the problem.

Tens of thousands took to the streets across Colombia last week, as workers and students joined the strike launched by campesinos in the north of the country. Violent clashes were reported Aug. 29, primarily from Bogotá, where police fired tear gas into a crowd of some 10,000 assembled in the city's main square, Plaza Bolívar. Witnesses report that despite a strong police presence, the demonstrators remained calm for several hours, with speakers encouraging peaceful protest—until a group arrived (possibly agents provocateurs) who began throwing firecrackers and debris at the police line, sparking the melee. Within 15 minutes, the square had been cleared, though clashes with the ESMAD riot squad continued in the streets surrounding the plaza. Some 20 were injured in the street fighting. Riots were also reported in Soacha, a working-class city on the outskirts of Bogotá, where dozens of masked men clashed with riot police, prompting local authorities to order a curfew.

Less than a year before Colombia's 2014 elections, the country's Supreme Court ordered the arrest Aug. 29 of a presidential primary candidate for former President Alvaro Uribe's Democratic Center party. Luis Alfredo Ramos, former senator and governor of Antioquia,  is under investigation for suspected ties to paramilitary groups—the latest elite figure to be linked to the "para-politics" scandal. Judicial authorities are probing Ramos' purported collaboration with Freddy Rendón AKA "El Aleman"—a now "demobilized" commander of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Ramos is also suspected of links to Juan Carlos Sierra AKA "El Tuso"—another AUC commander now imprisoned in the US on drug trafficking charges. "El Tuso" is reported have made major contributions to Ramos' political campaigns. Ramos is expected to be arrested imminently.

Family members of inmates are keeping vigil outside Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with signs demanding to know the whereabouts of their loved ones, after an explosion of violence at the facility left at least 30 dead Aug. 24. Authorities have still not released the names of the dead and wounded in the conflagration that began as a fight between rival gangs.  Most of the victims burned to death after inmates blew up two propane tanks and fashioned others into improvised flamethrowers. Some prisoners jumped from the roof to escape the flames. Among those killed was an 18-month-old infant, one of some 250 children living in the prison with their incarcerated parents. Inmates at two other Bolivian prisons—San Pedro in La Paz, and San Sebatián in Cochabamba—have declared their own "state of emergency" in solidarity with the Palmasola prisoners, and to demand a solution to the grave problems in the country's penal institutions.

Campesinos occupying the contested Conga mine site in Peru's Cajamarca region on Aug. 20 tore down a gate they said had been illegally erected by the Yanacocha mining company across a trail used by locals as a traditional right-of-way. Video footage shows protesters using shovels and farm implements to tear up and drag away the metal gate across the pathway near Laguna Namocoha, one of the highland lakes that will be impacted by the mining project. National Police troops on hand apparently did not interfere. Idelso Hernández, leader of the Cajamarca Defense Front, challenged police and prosecutors to attend a campesino assembly to answer for allowing construction of the gates. Protesters said that if their demand for a meeting on the matter was not met, they would similarly take down two other gates built by the company blocking access to lagunas Azul and Cortada. (Celendin Libre, Aug. 20; video footage at Celendin Libre, Aug. 20)