@anastasia-austin
Freelance investigative journalist and security analyst in LatAm focusing on organized crime, corruption, and the people who fight it. Former InSight Crime investigator. Read my work: https://muckrack.com/anastasia-austin-1
Peru’s congress bet on ousting a rubber stamp president to pacify protestors in Lima. The bet has not come off. It may have even made things worse.
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
In many videos, civilians can be heard shouting “we are not terrorists.”
“We’re scared and sad,” an indigenous organizer wrote me.
All this under the guise that the protests “are linked to organized crime and illegal mining.” Claims that have so far not been substantiated.
They have thrown indigenous leaders into prisons reserved for the most violent organized criminals.
The “paro nacional’ has been going for almost a month. So far, security forces have killed one, injured dozens, and arrested hundreds.
Ecuador protests |Sources in Ecuador continue to share pretty disturbing videos with me. They show military members threatening civilians rifles, attacking, beating up, and kicking people after they’re down. 🪡
U.S. Says It Will Revoke Colombian President’s Visa www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/u...
Final word on this -- there's a lot of analysis (rightfully so) about what this strike will mean for Noboa. But I think its a pivotal moment for CONAIE itself which has had a rough year bit.ly/3G2JLjj
4. And (of course) bringing back the diesel subsidy. This one unites indigenous communities, transport workers, and social organizations who view it as an attack on Ecuador's poorest populations. It's also a common rallying cry for CONAIE's biggest strikes.
3. Reduction of VAT from 15% to 12% and strengthening of public health and education systems. The VAT was raised last year, but the funds went primarily towards Noboa's war on gangs, while other institutions continue to suffer from a dearth of resources.
2. No constituent assembly referendum. Amidst repeated clashes with Ecuador's Constitutional Court, Noboa proposed a constitutional convention to rewrite the country's top law. The idea is on hold, for now, but CONAIE is demanding its scrapped permanently
1. A stop to Noboa's mining and oil expansion. Noboa has pushed hard for extractivist projects, often playing fast and loose with requirements in Ecuador's constitution, which has some of the strongest environmental and indigenous protections in the world. bit.ly/4oqd3Kr
Last week, the CONAIE in Ecuador called its first national strike since 2022. A lot of media are calling it a "strike over the diesel subsidy cut." But while diesel was the trigger, the region's most powerful indigenous federation's list of demands is much longer, including... 🧵
Last week, the US designated Ecuadorian gangs, the Lobos and the Choneros as terrorist organizations, even while promising nearly US$20 million to “wage war against these vicious animals, these terrorists.”
Source: www.npr.org/2025/09/04/n...
A Canadian lawyer just filed a complaint against Dundee Precious Metals before the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for misleading shareholders about the Loma Larga #mining project in #Ecuador.
The complaint cites our report for @theguardian.com
bit.ly/4oqd3Kr
For more on this story -- check out my recent piece in the Guardian with @douwedenheld.bsky.social : bit.ly/4oqd3Kr
Local government continues to oppose the project, with #Cuenca's mayor saying "putting the project on pause: is not enough
Breaking |Ecuador's mining ministry announced it will suspend the Loma Larga project in #Ecuador until Dundee Precious Metals publishes an environmental management plan. This represents a step back after the Noboa administration pushed through the company's environmental license just last month
This is Utah in case anyone’s wondering how pissed off people are. I have never seen anything like this.
Upon learning that your own mistake sent an innocent father to a brutal prison where he’s likely to be tortured, anyone with a shred of decency would be overcome with shame and fight like hell to get him back.
They think it’s funny.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
“They are all here,” a lady running a little shop on one of these roads told us. “The military comes through during the day, and when they go home in the evening, the others come out. I serve everyone - what else can I do?”
Read our latest on OffMap Media: bit.ly/3Yc3Nhz
🚨New Article | Our latest for @offmapmedia.bsky.social explores the tricky balance between navigating real danger in Colombia’s countryside and not getting sucked into the prejudices and anxieties that have accumulated over decades of civil conflict.
#Colombia #FARC-EP #ELN #security
The Trump administration is like Hitler’s Germany — a fascist state. Except when it’s like Springtime for Hitler — an absurdist parody of itself. @theatlantic.com @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social
I wish democrats in the US would pay attention, instead of worrying about bipartisanship, “waiting for the fever to break”, and getting vulnerable with their gym buddies or whatever it is Chuck Schumer is doing.
I realise people like to dunk on COP in general and Brazil's determination to hold COP30 in a city without adequate infrastructure in particular, but this story about a new road "cutting through the Amazon" seems out of proportion to me… (see gif)
Bellingcat's Environmental Investigation team is looking for story pitches that use open-source investigation techniques to investigate environmental issues. We offer payment for stories, so if you've been working on a story and want to get paid, look here:
www.bellingcat.com/uncategorize...
We discussing the influence of the AGC or Gaitanistas, Colombia’s largest, most powerful criminal group in the gold mining industry in Segovia, Antioquia, on next week’s Colombia Calling podcast.
Not to be missed! Tune in their podcast below.
open.spotify.com/show/3DdNcFZ...
