Cuba's Fidel Castro dies

Cuba's veteran revolutionary leader and former communist president, Fidel Castro Ruz, died in Havana late on 25 November, at the age of 90. His brother, President Raúl Castro, informed Cubans of the death speaking on state television, and the State Council declared nine days of mourning until 4 December, when Castro's remains would be buried in Santiago de Cuba. Cuba's socialist allies were among the first world leaders to praise one of the 20th century's iconic political figures, much like his former companion-in-arms Ernesto Che Guevara. Hundreds of Cuban exiles in Miami however, came onto the streets to celebrate the end of a man whose revolution forced many to leave their homes and flee, when possible, to the United States. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela said Castro was heading for "immortality," and inevitably reminded Venezuelans of their own late leader, Hugo Chávez, for the "deep friendship" they had forged and for leading "two revolutions harassed by the empire," meaning the United States. Bolivia's Evo Morales told the Venezuelan broadcaster Telesur that the best homage was to keep the "unity between peoples" and "never forget" Castro's "anti-imperialist struggle." Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto called Castro a "friend of Mexico" and "promoter" of bilateral ties based on "respect and solidarity." As a young man, Castro took refuge in Mexico before returning to take power in 1959, and the two countries maintained good working ties whenever Peña Nieto's centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party governed Mexico. Profiles and obituaries of Castro appeared early in several news outlets on 26 November, including Spain's national broadcaster RTVE, Britain's The Guardian and Le Figaro.

Colombian president given Nobel peace prize

President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October, in spite of losing a national referendum on 2 October over his peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The prize, as a Nobel committee spokesman told Santos by phone, was for his "resolute efforts to bring the civil war in Colombia to a peaceful end," while a grateful Santos admitted to him the country was earlier "on the verge" of doing so. He later said in public that he "humbly" accepted the prize "in the name of all Colombians" and especially of "millions of victims" who had suffered through 50 years of civil conflict in Colombia. In the referendum his government had called to obtain public backing for the peace deal, over 60 per cent of eligible voters abstained and 50.2 per cent of those who did participate, voted against it. Media and observers analysed extensively why the public seemed dissatisfied, and reasons given included a vigorous No campaign led by the former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, and insufficient consultations with political parties and civil associations. According to the broadcaster Caracol, Santos and the FARC would discuss "adjustments and specifications" to the deal in response to the No victory. Yet Mr Uribe congratulated Santos on his prize, and wrote on Twitter that he hoped this would prompt him to change any agreement "harmful to peace" in Colombia. Bogotá's former leftist mayor Gustavo Petro also congratulated Santos, pointing out on Twitter that he was, after the novelist Gabriel García Márquez, the second Colombian to become a Nobel laureate.

Pope denounces "sin" of worldwide pollution

Not for the first time since ascending the papal throne, Pope Francis denounced on 1 September the destruction of the natural world, calling it a sin against God and urging believers to reconsider their lives and "repent," for contributing to this destruction. He made his call in a message issued for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, presented at the Vatican by two cardinals. In it he stated people had "no right" to exploit the world with "selfishness and irresponsibility" and urged individuals to recognize their personal, daily contributions to climate change, Notimex agency reported. This, he stated, "is the first step on the path to conversion" or change. He urged Catholics to follow a tradition of collective, public repentance in the Church, peer into their consciences and repent for taking part, through the modern lifestyle, in "a system that has imposed the logic of profitting at all costs, regardless of social exclusion or the destruction of nature." The pontiff was to celebrate evening prayers for the occasion that day, to be held in Saint Peter's Square, La Nación reported.

Colombia lost over two million hectares of forests since 1960s

Millions of hectares of woodlands equivalent to the size of a province, were destroyed in Colombia between 1967 and 2012 thanks to farming, war, mining and a range of criminal activities. The Agustín Codazzi Geographical Institute (IGAC) and IDEAM, two public research bodies, found in the recently published Suelos y tierras de Colombia, a paper on the state of the Colombia's natural landscapes, that the country lost just over 2.4 million hectares (24,000 square kilometres) of forest cover in that period, about equivalent to the size of the central department of Cundinamarca that includes Bogotá, El Espectador reported on 30 August. The bodies found that in 1967 the country had 68, 223,717 hectares of forests - or 60 per cent of its entire area - and this dropped to 65,767,667 hectares in 2012, or 58 per cent of the country's surface. About 60 million hectares consisted of primary or secondary forests and the rest, woodlands interspersed with farmed land. The worst damage was done from the 1960s to the 1980s, the IGAC found. Caracol radio cited its head, Juan Antonio Nieto Escalante, as urging more efforts to protect the forest now, as the country's civil war winds down.

Salta in Argentina to ban plastic bags

The district of Salta in northern Argentina is phasing out the sale and use of plastic bags by the end of 2016 to curb pollution, the regional daily El Tribuno reported on 30 August. The daily stated that single-bag use had already fallen by 70 per cent since early 2016, when the municipality began discouraging their use in coordination with supermarkets. Their sale or distribution will be forbidden from 30 December, it stated, while shops and supermarkets were to starting selling and promoting the use of cloth or reusable bags from 1 September. Plastic, which takes hundreds of years or longer to disappear, has become one of the world's main pollutants, in spite of its utility.

Fighting with FARC formally "at an end" in Colombia

A bilateral and definitive ceasefire between the Colombian government and the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, began at midnight on 28-29 August, marking the beginning of the end of some 50 years of civil war pursuant to a recent peace agreement reached between both sides. The FARC's supreme leader, Timoleón Jiménez or Timochenko, ordered his troops to stop fighting speaking from a hotel in Havana on 28 August. President Juan Manuel Santos also expressed his delight, writing on Twitter that a "new history begins for Colombia on 29 August. We silenced the guns. The war with the FARC is over." A verification committee was now to check and ensure the ceasefire was being respected nationwide by both sides, Radio Santa Fe reported on 29 August. The state and the FARC were expected to sign a peace treaty between 20 and 26 September, Agence France-Presse cited the Interior Minister Juan Carlos Villegas as saying on 26 August. Colombia's smaller guerrilla force, the National Liberation Army (ELN) was separately "worried" by this peace and "differs" with the FARC over the contents of its accord, according to the newspaper El Espectador. Its commander, Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, reportedly sent the FARC chief a two-page letter praising the FARC's move to become a peaceful political entity but also stating his concern that the government would now turn its forces on the ELN, which have fewer troops than the FARC. Rodríguez, aka Gabino, stated he did not discern any intention on the government's part to make peace with the ELN. Five suspected ELN fighters were separately arrested in the district of Bagre in Antioquia, Colprensa and dailies reported on 28 August. They were associated with acts of extorsion used to finance the guerrillas.

Colombia and communist rebels announce "final" deal to end 50 years of fighting

Colombian media and the public hailed the announcement on 24 August that the government and envoys of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had ended their talks in Havana and agreed on an accord to end some 50 years of civil war in Colombia. Negotiators announced on 24 August that an agreement had been reached on six principal points after almost four years of talks, namely: on a comprehensive rural development policy, the peacetime political role of the FARC, the mechanics of ending fighting, curbing illegal drug production, compensation for victims and verification of peace and its approval with a referendum, Bogotá's Radio Santa Fe reported. Peace between the two sides was to be signed formally in early September, while President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón cited 2 October as the date of a national vote allowing Colombians to approve or reject it, Spain's RTVE reported. Colombians, he stated, would have the "last word" on the agreement. He thanked the countries that had accompanied the talks - Norway, Venezuela, Chile and the host Cuba - and the European Union for its support. Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro congratulated Colombians and reiterated his country's "full support for building peace." The head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, also congratulated both sides for the "historic step." In Bogotá, people, from local residents to students and politicians, began celebrating the imminent accord late on 23 August. People gathered swiftly in the "hippies park" in the middle-class district of Chapinero, soon after networking websites reported the conclusion of talks that evening, El Espectador reported.

Uruguay to clamp down on free plastic bags

The government of Uruguay presented a bill to parliament in July to restrict the use of plastic bags and fight the massive land and sea pollution these cause. Bags are an oil-derived product that decompose over hundreds of years or longer, though beforehand they break into pieces or specks that are swallowed by wildlife, especially fish, when they do not choke animals in bigger pieces. Uruguayans reportedly use 345 plastic bags each a year, or a total of more than 1.17 billion bags a year nationwide, the daily El Observador cited a plastics industry representative at the Senate Environment Committee as saying. The government bill seeks to ban shops from handing out free bags from 2017, while restrictions and conditions would be imposed on bag imports, the daily reported on 29 July. Shops would also have to inform customers on the "responsible" use of bags and offer reusable bags for sale. The Finance Ministry was to regulate the pricing, mechanics and implementation of the law once approved, Spain's EFE agency reported on 28 July.

FARC, Colombia sign ceasefire deal hailed as step to final peace

Negotiators of the Colombian government and the communist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed an agreement on 23 June on a bilateral ceasefire and the FARC's programmed disarmament, in a deal hailed worldwide as a crucial step toward a definitive end to decades of civil war. The draft agreement was signed in Havana, where the two sides have been negotiating over peace since 2012, by President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and the FARC's supreme leader, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri (aka Timoleón Jiménez or Timochenko), as hundreds watched on a giant screen put up in central Bogotá, Agence France-Presse reported. It cited President Santos as suggesting that a final treaty could be signed by 20 July, after which the sides would begin implementing the deal. Its provisions included concentrating some 7,000 FARC guerrillas in 20-23 sub-districts for disarmament and demobilization, but also a commitment on the state's part to clamp down on criminal gangs the FARC insist are revived versions of right-wing paramilitary groups. Their targets are usually left-wing activists and politicians and human rights or environmental activists - and might plausibly include members of the FARC once they return to civilian life. Former president and current Senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who has opposed the peace talks, observed that the government was effectively allowing the "drug cartel" FARC to avoid punishment for its crimes and even turning them into semi-official (paraestatal) crime-fighters or vigilantes. Colombians were hoping the deal would bring peace and security, and boost the economy as promised, after more than 50 years of fighting that has fuelled land-grabbing, violence, gang crime and impunity, though many were for now cautious over its immediate benefits, Spain's El Mundo observed on 23 June.

New York shops to charge for plastic bags

New York joined the ranks of 150 U.S. cities by approving on 5 May an initiative against shops handing out free plastic bags, in a bid reduce massive plastic pollution on land and sea, the Associated Press reported. The city council voted in a resolution asking most shops to charge at least five cents per bag - and they can keep the money - to curb demand. Local authorities were cited as putting the number of plastic bags thrown out annually at 10 billion, or 19,000 a minute, though the report did not immediately specify if that was in New York or nationwide. The law is to enter into force on 1 October once promulgated by the mayor, Bill de Blasio. Mr de Blasio has reportedly pledged to eliminate the city's trash by 2030.

Colombians being urged to cut back on plastic bags

Colombian authorities were reported on 12 April as considering moves to discourage, though apparently not eliminate, the use of free plastic bags at stores and supermarkets. Plastic bags are one of a range of synthetic items piling up on land and sea and harming nature and animals by various means. The government was to ban smaller plastic bags that are easily ripped from 29 April, and define the quality and strength of the plastic bags shops should provide their customers. The new norms and a publicity campaign launched that day were intended to reduce the 288 bags every Colombian is thought to use annually, or more than 21,000 in a lifetime of 73 years, El Tiempo reported. The country's population was just over 50 million in 2015. Colombia's Environment Minister Gabriel Vallejo López said the norms would first apply to bigger stores, which should provide unspecified bagging alternatives. "It is not about eliminating use of bags, but making rational use of" them, he said. The move seemed timid compared to those of other countries that have banned bags, but was still reported on some websites to have caused cabinet divisions. Vallejo indicated on 12 April at the launch of the Reembólsale al planeta campaign ("Rebag the world"), that Colombia would not presently emulate moves seen in some European countries to charge for plastic bags.

Venezuelan Supreme Court, government chip away at opposition's legislative powers

The Venezuelan opposition in control of parliament has had to dismiss three of its legislators under government and Supreme Court pressures, losing thus the two-thirds majority that would have given it maximum legislative powers, media reported on 13 January. The Supreme Court suspended the three legislators in early January for alleged voting irregularities in the 6 December parliamentary elections, though the opposition accuses it of simply doing the socialist government's political bidding. Initially ignoring the Court's instructions and swearing them into office, parliament reconsidered its position when threatened with the prospect of the Supreme Court nullifying all its acts and effectively stripping it of all power. Some pro-government MPs suggested the Court should become a provisional legislature if parliament insisted on maintaining the three disputed seats. The majority coalition was now left with 109 of 167 legislative seats and retained ample legislative powers. Speaker of parliament Henry Ramos Allup described parliament's decision as a "tactical" retreat, but accused the government and its allies of "disobeying the popular will" with the ploy, responding to the charges that parliament was disobeying the laws by keeping the three members. They cannot "come up with votes" Ramos wrote on the website Twitter, so they "come up with rulings." The fate of the three seats was unclear but the liberal majority could not for now pass fundamental state laws, change the constitution or sack senior officials like Supreme Court magistrates.

Venezuelan cabinet reshuffled, parliament orders Chávez portraits removed

The broadcaster Globovisión listed on 7 January the names of the new Venezuelan cabinet formally sworne in the day before before President Nicolás Maduro. The reshuffle was in response to the socialist government's defeat in the 6 December parliamentary elections, but also a bid to address the country's economic problems. A former Caracas mayor and state governor Aristóbulo Isturiz was named Executive Vice-President. One newly-elected opposition parliamentarian criticized the addition of four ministries to the government "bandwagon," at a time of dire economic conditions for ordinary Venezuelans and reduced government revenues. The newly elected, opposition-dominated parliament in turn began its legislative term to 2021 on 5 January. The assembly formalized its roster of members with 112 opposition members and 54 pro-government parliamentarians, in spite of court action by the government to have disqualified three opposition MPs, allegedly for their fraudulent election. Removing the three would reduce the size of the opposition's majority and could curb its legislative powers. The new Speaker of parliament, Henry Ramos Allup, insisted on Twitter that the opposition was standing firm against this challenge whose outcome was not yet clear. His predecessor, the socialist legislator Diosdado Cabello, effecively accused the new majority of breaking the laws and "doing what they want," by holding onto the three seats. The country's Supreme Court - which the opposition denounces as obedient to the president - had ordered the seats provisionally suspended on 30 December. Parliament caused a stir with one of its first acts on 6 January, the removal of portraits of the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez Frías, and a computerized portrait of the 19th century revolutionary Simón Bolívar from the building. The latter was a "reconstruction" of Bolívar's face, which Chávez had made and printed out in 2012.

Christmas brings trash to Mexico City

Mexico City authorities estimated the city would generate about 4,200 tons of trash on Christmas Eve in addition to roughly 12,800 tons the megalopolis produces daily, Excelsior reported on 25 December. Mexico City has in past years had problems disposing of its daily household waste, which includes significant amounts of plastic, very little of which is separated at source. An environmental officer from the city's Venustiano Carranza sector, Elena Cortés, observed that much of this extra waste would consist of electronic components and batteries, which she stated had to be disposed of correctly and taken to recycling centers. According to one study cited in Excelsior, every resident of Mexico City used on average 12.6 batteries a year. The city and its environs are estimated to have about 20 million inhabitants. Ahead of Christmas, the city government and its Environment office launched a campaign urging people to reduce their trash, especially by avoiding excess packaging and ribbons for presents, the Diario de México reported on 20 December, citing Notimex. The campaign pointed out that people generated 30 per cent more trash over Christmas and 35 per cent of that consisted of packaging. In normal conditions, Mexico City reportedly produces 12,816,000 tons of trash daily, according to the 2013 Solid Waste Inventory. The city's website examines in parts the reasons for "so much waste" being produced in the Mexican capital.

Venezuela's new parliamentarians set on passing an amnesty law

Venezuelan politicians opposed to the government of President Nicolás Maduro were insisting he could not block an amnesty law the opposition intends to approve in the next parliament, as he threatened to on 8 December. The president's comments were an early indication he was disinclined to cooperate with the opposition-dominated parliament, due to start working on 5 January. But Delsa Solórzano, a member-elect from Un Nuevo Tiempo, one of the parties in the opposition coalition, said the law would be approved soon after parliament starts working, the online daily TalCual reported on 10 December. She said the constitution allowed parliament - where the opposition will have a two-thirds majority - to promulgate laws rejected by the president. The amnesty, she said, would affect 80 detainees and was part of her coalition's bid to bring "reconciliation" to Venezuela; she insisted there would be careful vetting to ensure felons were not freed. The daily cited a leading government opponent, the governor of the state of Miranda Henrique Capriles as saying that the president "could not" block the law. President Maduro maintained in turn his defiant discourse. He declared on 9 December that there would be no "surrender" to the Right, and the "revolution is not over... they are threatening to deprive the people of its benefits. We are going to end this... economic war," state television reported. He also said prosecutors must investigate allegations of vote buying by the opposition, "because there is proof for it." The evidence cited was a tape recording of an opposition politician discussing money for votes with an unnamed individual, dubbed pollo (chicken). Maduro earlier accused the opposition of using "economic warfare" to win the elections, "like the bad guys."

Opposition wins decisive majority in Venezuelan parliament

Venezuela's opposition coalition Table of Democratic Unity (MUD) attributed to itself 112 of the 167 seats in parliament following its victory in the legislative elections of 6 December, though the figure had yet to be definitively confirmed. It indicated in any case an opposition victory far greater than many had dared hope for, or feared, and would in theory give MUD enough seats to vote in laws to change the Venezuelan polity. After initially accepting the opposition's victory, President Nicolás Maduro announced he would reject any law to free jailed dissidents, an initiative likely to be one of the new parliament's legislative priorities. The newspaper El Universal cited MUD's executive secretary, Jesús Torrealba as saying on 7 or 8 December that the electoral authority was confusing people by giving MUD only 107 seats, when three "indigenous" seats and two other, indeterminate seats were clearly with MUD. The opposition separately stated that its intention to pass a law to free political detainees was not just for politicians like Leopoldo López, but also indigenous and trade union personalities believed jailed for criticizing the socialist government. President Maduro said on 8 December he would oppose any such a law, saying those allegedly behind the February 2014 demonstrations had to do jail time for the harm done. "Let me say as head of state... I won't accept any Amnesty Law, because they violated human rights... they can send me a thousand laws, but those who kill the people must be judged and must pay," he said on the state-run Venezolana de Televisión.

FARC provoke massive oil spill in south-western Colombia

Colombians were outraged in late June by the consequences of a 22 June guerrilla attack on a pipeline, which caused thousands of barrels of oil to pour into the river Mira in the district of Tumaco. The hashtag Environmental Holocaust was created on Twitter to show pictures of oil streaming down the river toward the Pacific coast, after two suspected fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) bombed part of the Transandino pipeline. The explosion was estimated to have spilled the equivalent of some 10,000 barrels of crude into the area, as the review Semana observed on 27 June that the harm done was "irreparable" in spite of efforts by locals and the firm Ecopetrol to clean up and repair the pipeline. The spill was bad enough to prompt Colombian environmentalists, whom Semana described as usually reluctant to condemn FARC actions for their own left-wing sympathies, to publicly urge the sides in the civil conflict to leave the environment alone. President Juan Manuel Santos separately told El Tiempo newspaper that the FARC had provoked "possibly the worst" environmental disaster in Colombia's history. He visited the area on 26 June with ministers including the environment minister who reportedly wept on seeing the landscape. Separately, the army arrested eight suspected FARC fighters in the districts of Ipiales and Roberto Payán in the Nariño department, Semana reported on 28 June, citing Agence France-Presse. The report did not mention the detained as suspects in the pipeline attack.

Bogotá police to confiscate sharp items on streets, to curb attacks

Authorities in Bogota will confiscate knives and sharp items found in public, and admonish and possibly fine people found with potentially harmful items, in response to a reported rise in armed attacks in Bogotá. The city issued a decree on 11 June instructing police to detain anyone found with such items for six hours and explain to them how these could be dangerous even if carried in self-defence, El Tiempo reported on 12 June. Detained persons would have to sign a pledge of good conduct up to two times, then face a fine if found a third time with such items, Radio Santa Fe reported. The Metropolitan Police chief Humberto Guatibonza was cited as saying that police were seeing more attacks with blunt instruments in the capital, attributed to the unrestricted sale of potentially dangerous artefacts and a clampdown on carrying firearms since 2012. That had effectively forced criminals to use blunt weapons in violent thefts, he said. Police declared they had confisctated 180,000 blunt weapons of various types so far this year, and would proceed to look for such items in parks and public transportation, El Tiempo reported. The city government separately reported on 12 June that it was carrying out security checks on the city's Transmilenio bus network, and had so far detained 10 people for thefts and 18 for jumping onto buses without paying.

Drought forces Puerto Rico to cut off water in capital most days

Puerto Rico imposed strict water rationing in the capital San Juan from 10 June, following months of drought that had already provoked intermittent cuts in the water supply. Several papers were urging people to stop wasting water. The "greater part of the" capital now had water every three days, or household water was to be cut off for 48 hours every three days, for "up to several months," Spain's EFE news agency cited the head of the water authority Alberto Lázaro as saying. He warned that current shortages could be as bad as 1994, when they lasted for five months. Restrictions were to affect 200,000 users or households whose water came from the Carraízo dam outside the capital, while similar restrictions were to be imposed on "several districts" in the northern part of the island, which has a total population of 3.6 million, Colombia's El Espectador and EFE reported. The drought was said to be possibly due to the El Niño effect, a regional weather condition, and shortages were attributed to failure to properly dredge and maintain dams, which had reduced their storage capacity, EFE observed. The website Primera Hora cited a deputy-head of the water authority as saying on 11 June that some dredging of Carraízo was envisaged by the end of June. He said he hoped the 48-hour restrictions would balance water leaving and entering the dam, which he said was about 40 million gallons a day presently. He contrasted this with amounts entering dams in the western part of Puerto Rico, which were now in excess of 200 million gallons a day, mainly because "it keeps raining" in that part of the island. The daily El Vocero de Puerto Rico carried on 12 June tips on using water responsibly, advising people in the capital not to throw polluting chemical substances into the sink or toilet, not use water to defrost foods and to turn off the tap when brushing teeth. Just rinsing in a shower, it observed, could typically use between two and five gallons (7.5-18 litres) of water.

Venezuelan regime arrests Caracas mayor, for "subversion"

Venezuelan security forces arrested on 19 February one of the country's leading opponents, the mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma, whom President Nicolás Maduro accused immediately of involvement in subversive plots. A "massive" group of policemen and security agents were reported to have broken into Ledezma's office and "hit" him before leading him away without letting him speak, Radio France Internationale cited his wife as saying. President Maduro had in recent days cited arrests in the armed forces for unspecified plotting, and reportedly accused Ledezma of connivence, in the latest of a string of such charges since he became president in 2013. On 19 February he said Mr Ledezma was using his position as mayor to "seek violence, coup plotting and destabilization." He said many opposition politicians did the same - "a mayor here, a governor there or a member of parliament" - to plot against the state and sabotage the economy, and warned subversives would go to court, the official AVN agency reported. The arrest came close to the anniversary of the arrest of another opponent closely connected to Ledezma, Leopoldo López. Two former regional presidents, Sebastián Piñera of Chile and Andrés Pastrana of Colombia, who have sought to have Mr López freed, denounced the latest arrest. Piñera called it "brutal, illegal and abusive," Venezuela's El Nacional reported, citing his Twitter account. A spokesman for the US State Department also rejected Maduro's charges that the United States was sabotating Venezuela's economy; Venezuela's economic problemss were the fruit of its government's policies, CNN quoted spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying.