by the El Reportero’s news services
Daniel Ortega
On Oct. 13, all but one of the seven supreme court (CSJ) magistrates aligned with the opposition Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) agreed to return to work, after a two month absence. The judges’ return to work is a victory for President Daniel Ortega, confirming his control over the judiciary and ensuring his path to re-election in November 2011 general elections. It gives a semblance of legitimacy to two controversial legal moves to which seven judges (of a total 16) had been objecting.
Columbia and Ecuador unite against Farc
In the early hours of 19 Sept. 19, the Colombian armed forces led the largest military attack against the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) so far this year, killing 22 members of the leftwing guerrilla group in an assault on its 48th Front.
The offensive against the Farc took place in the municipality of San Miguel, near the eponymous border town attacked by the Farc last Sept. 10, which sits on the banks of the San Miguel River, the natural border between Ecuador and Colombia. The operation demonstrates the renewed diplomatic and military cooperation between Colombia and neighbouring Ecuador.
