The struggle against the planned Conga gold mine in Peru's northern region of Cajamarca continues to gain ground, with formation of a "Unitary Struggle Command for the Northern Macroregion and Oriente," coordinating popular movements in adjoining regions. A general strike throughout the Northern Macroregion (comprising the regions of Cajamarca, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura, Tumbes and Amazonas) and possibly beyond has been called for May 31. Local struggles are joining their demands to those of the mine opponents in Cajamarca. Farmers in the irrigation district (Usuarios de Riego) of the Valle Chancay in Lambayeque who oppose water-diversion projects that would benefit agribusiness have pledged their support for the strike, as have the rondas campesinas (peasant self-defense patrols) in Ayavaca, Piura region, who oppose the local operations of Río Blanco Copper.

A state of emergency has been declared in Espinar province of Peru's Cuzco region after a confrontation with National Police on May 29 left two campesinos dead amid an indefinite paro (civil strike), called to protest pollution caused by the mining operations of Xstrata Tintaya, local subsidiary of the Anglo-Swiss company Xstrata PLC. After protesters blocked roads with tree-trunks, police opened fire, killing two. Authorities say several police were also hurt. The state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Oscar Valdés suspends civil liberties for at least 30 days.

Lake Cachet II in southern Chile's Aysén region vanished in less than 24 hours last week, leaving behind just some large puddles and chunks of ice. Lake Cachet II's 200 million cubic liters of water gushed out into the Río Baker, tripling its volume and emptying the five-square-kilometer lake bed. (See map.) The lake is usually held behind a natural glacier dam, but rising temperatures weakened the ice. This was actually the 11th time that the lake has drained since 2008, leaving downstream residents terrified of sudden deluges. Lago Témpanos in Magallanes region of far southern Chile drained in a similar fashion in May 2007. "Climate models predict that as temperatures rise, this phenomenon, known as GLOFs [glacial lake outburst floods], will become more frequent," said glaciologist Gino Casassa from Chile's Center for Scientific Studies (CES). The GLOF phenomenon has also been reported in recent years in the Himalayas, and in Iceland due to volcanic activities, Casassa said. (The Watchers, May 23; AFP, May 22; El Mundo, Spain, May 7, 2007)

In the seventh YouTube edition of the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg, just returned from Peru where he was on assignment for The Progressive, speaks at the Libertarian Book Club's Anarchist Forum on the Quechua indigenous struggle against US-backed mining projects and in defense of land, water and autonomy in the Andes.

The Israel Corporation, with holdings in the energy sector across South and Central America, has especially targeted Peru for expansion. IC Power, a holding of the Israel Corp Group, already operates four hydro and gas plants in the Andean nation. South American subsidiary Inkia Energy owns 75% of Kallpa Generación, operator of the massive Kallpa Thermo-electric Center, south of Lima, which burns natural gas from the Camisea pipeline. Inkia Energy has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build the giant 510-megawatt Cerro del Águila Hydroelectric Center in Tayacaja province, Huancavelica region. IC Power's plants produce 11.34% of Peru's electricity, and the company hopes to greatly expand in coming years. While IC Power has operations in Bolivia, Chile, Panama and El Salvador, CEO Javier García sees the greatest potential in Peru. "The Peruvian market is developing and its consumption increases every year," García told Israel's YNet news service. In contrast, García said that Bolivia's economic climate attracts few investors, despite the fact that IC Power's holdings there have yielded "nice profits." (YNet, May 12; Green Prophet, Nov. 17, 2011)

Venezuela on May 16 demanded that the US extradite a former supreme court judge who has accused high-ranking figures of the Hugo Chávez government of links to drug-trafficking. The fugitive judge, Eladio Aponte Aponte, was removed from office in March over charges that he provided forged documents to accused trafficker Walid Makled. Aponte is co-operating with US authorities after his April 2 flight to Miami in a DEA-chartered plane. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said the US must hand over Eliado Aponte, as there was a judicial process underway against him in Venezuela, and noted that an Interpol "red notice" has been issued for him. From the US, Aponte has publicly claimed that Chávez's office and top military officials including Defense Minister Henry Rangel Silva asked him to be lenient in the case against a lieutenant accused of trafficking drugs. Maduro counter-charges that the DEA is working to protect criminals and undermine the revolutionary process in Venezuela. He said if the US does not return Aponte, Washington would become "direct accomplices of these drug-trafficking mafias." (InSight Crime, FT, May 15; Radio Nacional de Venezuela, May 14; WSJ, April 19)

The Peruvian military held a ceremony at its Chorrillos base, near Lima, on April 20 to commemorate a commando operation 15 years earlier that freed 71 hostages who had been held by rebels from the leftist Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) for 126 days at the Japanese ambassador's residence in the capital. One hostage, two soldiers and all 14 rebels were killed in the operation, which took place on April 22, 1997. The raid, codenamed Operation Chavín de Huántar, was ordered by the government of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), then a US ally; Fujimori is now serving a 25-year prison term in Peru for corruption and for ordering killings and kidnappings.

National Police troops in the service of the Antamina company detained 16 local campesinos from San Marcos municipality, Huari province, in Peru's central Andean region of Áncash, in the pre-dawn hours of May 10. Eight were taken off a combi microbus, and eight detained at their homes in the hamlet of San Pedro de Pichiu by elite troops of the Special Operations Directorate (DINOES). Witnesses said they were beaten as they were detained, and then taken to a police post at Yanacancha, on land within the Antamina mining camp, where the are still being held. Pablo Salazar Solís, San Marcos municipal agent for the district, was able to visit the detainees, and told the National Confederation of Communities Affected by Mining (CONACAMI) that they had been tortured during interrogations and forced to falsely confess that they had taken part in a recent protest against the company. San Pedro de Pichiu residents this week held a 24-hour civil strike (paro), blocking roads to protest the contamination of local waters in an Antamina petrol spill. In the May 4 truck accident, a tanker full of petrol was spilled into Laguna Huatucocha, a highland lake in the watershed of the Río Mosta, a tributary of the Marañón, the central river of Peru's Andes.