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Paramilitary Ties to Elite In Colombia Are Detailed

MEDELLIN, Colombia -- Top paramilitary commanders have in recent days confirmed what human rights groups and others have long alleged: Some of Colombia's most influential political, military and business figures helped build a powerful anti-guerrilla movement that operated with impunity, killed...

Protests in Venezuela Reinvigorate Opposition

BOGOTA, Colombia, June 1 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's decision to pull the plug on an anti-government television station has prompted days of protests and generated international condemnation, giving a weak and demoralized opposition a rallying cry after years of setbacks.

In 'Little Guyana,' Disbelief Over Terrorism Arrests

NEW YORK, June 3 -- In the heart of the Queens neighborhood known as Little Guyana, Mohamed Sattaur stood Sunday over his plate of deep-fried cassava, wearing an expression of disbelief. Like many of his neighbors, Sattaur, 46, a Muslim from Guyana, was stunned by the news that men from his country...

Rice, Venezuelan Envoy Trade Barbs

PANAMA CITY, June 4 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Venezuela's foreign minister on Monday fired verbal broadsides at each other here over the closure of a television station in Venezuela that has been critical of the government.

Colombia to Recognize Gay Unions With Extension of Health, Other Benefits

BOGOTA, Colombia, June 15 -- Colombia's Congress voted to recognize gay unions, approving a bill to give same-sex couples full rights to health insurance, social security and inheritance benefits. The measure would make Colombia the first country in Latin America to extend such rights to gay...

Scarcity of Goods Sows Frustration Among Argentines

BUENOS AIRES -- At the height of rush hour, Luis Ibaez parked his taxi in the middle of the busiest intersection of this city, got out of the car and stood cross-armed in the street as traffic jammed around him.

Colombian Leader Says Rebels Killed 11 Civilian Hostages

BOGOTA, Colombia, June 28 -- President ÃƒÂlvaro Uribe on Thursday accused Colombia's largest rebel group of killing 11 civilian hostages, just hours after the guerrillas implied that a botched military rescue operation was to blame for the deaths.

Argentina's First Lady To Run for Presidency

BUENOS AIRES, July 1 -- Argentine President NÃƒÂ©stor Kirchner will not run for reelection in October, but his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, will run for the office, government officials announced Sunday.

For Rio, a Test of Temperament

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 6 -- Magazine surveys have called the residents here the friendliest in the world, the local music can melt stress on contact, and geological terms seem less apt than religious ones for the spectacular landscape.

Colombia's Low-Tech Coca Assault

EL MIRADOR, Colombia -- The latest shift in Colombia's war on drugs is evident on a green hilltop in this town, as weather-beaten men in gray jumpsuits -- government-paid eradicators -- use hoes and muscle to rip out bushes of coca. Policemen carrying M-16 assault rifles and land-mine detectors...