The week at a glance...Americas

Dorlin, French Guiana

Treasure fight: Nine prospectors were killed last week in an armed clash between gangs vying for control of a remote region known for illegal gold panning. The incident occurred during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to French Guiana, an overseas region of France. Experts say that heavily armed gangs organize the illegal extraction of between 5 and 10 tons of gold there every year, leaving behind damaging mercury contamination. Only about 3 tons of gold are extracted legally per year in French Guiana. Sarkozy said he would step up the fight against the illegal practice.

São José dos Campos, Brazil

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Squatter settlement stormed: About 2,000 Brazilian police this week used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear out a shantytown that had served as an illegal refuge for up to 6,000 homeless people since 2004. Some residents of the Pinheirinho favela girded themselves with makeshift armor and brandished bicycle chains and homemade lances against the police, who were enforcing a court’s eviction order. The Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement, which claims that 2 million citizens are homeless amid a severe housing shortage, called the eviction “an act of war.” The police arrested 32 people on vandalism and assault charges.