IRTF News

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to tell her more about a deal struck between the Trump administration and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to imprison immigrants deported from the United States in a Salvadoran maximum-security facility in exchange for the return of top leaders of the MS-13 gang who are in U.S. custody.

The order by the judge, Joan M. Azrack, came as she was considering a request by federal prosecutors on Long Island to dismiss sprawling narco-terrorism charges against Vladimir Arévalo Chávez, who is alleged to be one of those leaders, in preparation for sending him back to El Salvador.

A new trial against five Salvadoran environmentalists, accused of murdering a woman in 1989 during the civil war, will take place on Tuesday, announced the NGO they belong to, denouncing the case as a form of “persecution” for their anti-mining activism.

The environmentalists, who were guerrilla fighters at the time of the crime, were acquitted on October 18 along with three other former rebels also accused of the murder. However, a higher court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial.

“The case is criminalization and persecution of environmental activism (…) they are key figures in the community resistance against metal mining,” said Alfredo Leiva, a board member of the Santa Marta Association for Economic and Social Development (ADES).

The five environmentalists helped push through the 2017 ban on mining, which was repealed last December by the pro-government Congress at the request of El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who supports gold mining operations.

Under trade agreements, corporations are given the right to sue  governments using a controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS), which allows private sector lawyers to determine whether the country has treated foreign investors fairly. Even though the government of Honduras announced its withdrawal from ISDS in February 2024, companies continue to sue governments for policies that may impact their profits, such as reforms to make electricity more affordable.

​​​​​​​Given that Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America, the lawsuits from various corporations (totaling $19.4 billion, an amount equivalent to roughly 53% of the country’s GDP in 2024) add immense pressure on the government to implement policies that favor the companies’ interests. These actions often come with harmful consequences for environmental protection and human rights, as communities adjacent to the companies’ projects have denounced for years.

Honduras is currently facing a total of $19.4 billion in lawsuits from corporations, an amount equivalent to roughly 53% of the country’s GDP in 2024, according to new data by the Institute for Policy Studies, Transnational Institute, Honduras Solidarity Network and TerraJusta. More than $1.6 billion of the claims are from the energy sector alone, most of which are investors or companies involved in renewables.

The lawsuits, most of which are tied to controversial investments made after the 2009 coup, undermine government efforts to implement reforms aimed at protecting the environment and human rights, the organizations say.

A judge convicted seven former executives of Chiquita Brands in Colombia for sponsoring terrorism and sentenced them to 11 months in prison.

The former executives were responsible for Chiquita’s contributions totaling $1.7 million to paramilitary organization AUC between 1995 and 2004, said the Prosecutor General’s Office in a press statement.

Among those convicted are: John Paul Olivo (Comptroller of Chiquita Brands’ North America, who was the comptroller of Chiquita subsidiary Banadex between 1996 and 2001) and Charles Dennis Keiser (Chiquita’s operations chief in Colombia between 1987 and 2000).

The criminal proceedings in Colombia kicked off after Chiquita Brands pleaded guilty to terrorism-sponsoring in a U.S. federal court back in 2007 and was ordered to pay a $27 million fine.

Glencore is a global coal mining company based in Switzerland. It’s US-based subsidiary, Glencore USA LLC, is incorporated in Delaware. Glencore's U.S. operations (100% owned by Glencore) listed on its website includes 24 separate companies, including the company's New York headquarters on Madison Avenue. 

In Colombia, Glencore International is the 100% owner of several subsidiaries: C.I. Prodeco S.A., Carbones de la Jagua S.A., Carbones El Tesoro S.A., Consorcio Minero Unido S.A., Servicios Integrales de Cuidado y Mantenimiento Minero Ambiental S.A.S. (all in Barranquilla); Glencore Colombia SAS and Glencore Energy Colombia SAS (in Bogotá); and Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Nuevo S.A. (in Magdalena).

IRTF has been following the controversy around the Cerrejon Mine in Colombia for the past 20 years because of the negative impacts on local communities, including the Indigenous Wayúu in La Guajira Department (on the Atlantic coast and Venezuelan border). Cerrejon is Latin America’s largest open-pit coal mine. Once drinkable, the waters of the Ranchería River, now runs visibly dark.

Another layer of controversy is Glencore’s relationship with Israel. President Petro warned that if Glencore refuses to comply with the decree to suspend coal shipments to Israel, he would unilaterally alter its concession (permit) and would ask the local community near the mine to stage blockades.