Author Archives: Aleszu Bajak

New oil discovery reignites dispute over Falkland Islands, reins in U.S.

By Aleszu Bajak | Published: January 25, 2012
A recently-discovered offshore oil deposit that could contain more than 500 million barrels has reignited the dispute over the Falkland Islands’ sovereignty. Las Malvinas, as they are known in Argentina, lie 300 miles off the Argentine coast and were the scene of the Argentina-Britain Falklands War in early 1982. With the approach of the 30th anniversary [...]
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Patagonian hydroelectric dams approved

By Aleszu Bajak | Published: June 17, 2011
The multibillion-dollar HidroAysén project has been given the final green light to build five hydroelectric dams in an untouched area of Chilean Patagonia. HidroAysén proposes to dam up two rivers at five locations, inundating 14,000 acres of wilderness to produce 2,750 megawatts of energy by 2020. The argument is a familiar one coming from a [...]
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Colombia’s FARC rebels. Headed for defeat or hunkering down?

By Aleszu Bajak | Published: March 22, 2009
Withering military pressure by President Álvaro Uribe’s government has forced Colombian’s largest leftist rebel group, the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), to dig itself even deeper into the Colombian countryside. In 2008, more than 3,000 rebels surrendered their weapons and accepted Uribe’s desertion package. The kidnapping rate has taken a nose dive [...]
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