Washington, D.C. – In an intense start to the second trial of Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera, the presiding judge, Thomas F. Hogan, was forced to step down March 26, thus ending his involvement in the Palmera case. Participants in the International Day of Action to Free Ricardo Palmera were present in the courtroom and hailed this turn of events.

Washington, D.C. – In stunning defeat for the Bush administration, the attempt to frame Colombian rebel Ricardo Palmera on drug trafficking charges ended with a hung jury in Federal Court here, April 21. With the jurors unable to agree, Judge Royce Lambert declared a mistrial.