The trial of Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and Jim Monaghan will begin in early October 2002. The men were arrested in August 2001 and have been held in various Colombian Jails since then. They have been charged with the use of false documents and training the FARC. The men will be tried in a one judge no jury court.

Gilberto Torres, regional leader of USO oil workers union, and social activist in Casanare, was kidnapped by paramilitaries in February as he left the OCENSA pipeline that transports BP’s oil across Colombia. After six gruelling weeks, he became only the second trade unionist to survive kidnap and imprisonment by the paramilitaries, and was handed over to representatives of the Red Cross. Gilberto, now living in exile in Spain, visited Britain in July. He spoke at several meetings across the country, including an address to the 5,000 trade unionists at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset. Here, in his own words, he retells his experiences at the hands of the AUC.

The networks and continental campaigns, the social organisations of our countries taking part in the continental campaign of struggle against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA,) issue a call to the Days of Resistance and Struggle against the FTAA that will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 27th October to 1st November of this year.

While the attention of the mainstream press has focused almost exclusively on events in the Middle East over the last year, yet another spectacular victory has been won by the people of Latin America in their struggle against US-led neo-liberal imperialism.