And in Colombia, President Álvaro Uribe says his government has fired more than two dozen officers and soldiers involved in the killings of innocent civilians. The victims’ bodies were recently uncovered in a mass grave. Uribe said his government would curb abuses in the military.

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe: “In the instances of the army where there’s been negligence, a lack of care with following the procedures that have to be observed, and this has enabled some people to get involved in crimes, crimes resulting from the plotting between delinquents and members of the army.”

Human Rights Watch recently accused Uribe of trying to block several probes of his allies’ ties to right-wing death squads. Uribe has proposed to strip the investigating court of most of its authority.