UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Colombia and Cuba stand out as stark
                  violators of international human rights standards, Human Rights Watch says
                  in its annual report.

                  The report, released Thursday, commended Chile for its response to the arrest in
                  London of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

                  Human rights violations in the Americas took place "nowhere more brutally than in
                  Colombia," the report said. It blamed associations between the nation's military and
                  paramilitary groups for the slaughter of people suspected of supporting anti-government
                  guerrillas.

                  According to a national human rights group, the Colombian Commission of
                  Jurists, paramilitary organizations with alleged ties to the military were
                  blamed for 78 percent of Colombia's human rights violations in 1999, the
                  report said. It said the guerrillas were responsible for 20 percent and state
                  forces for 2 percent.

                  The report accused Colombian President Andres Pastrana's administration
                  of not acting fast enough to fight human rights abuses.

                  It said "continuing criminal activity by military intelligence" was a factor in
                  several recent high-profile killings. "Intelligence agents continued to threaten,
                  kidnap and kill," the report said, despite the breakup of the brigade that
                  centralized Colombia's military intelligence.

                  Colombia recently has been receiving limited support and military advice
                  from the United States on how to deal with the guerrilla insurgency.

                  Setback alleged in Cuba

                  In Cuba, the report said the government of President Fidel Castro has been
                  cracking down harder on human rights just a year after Pope John Paul II
                  pleaded personally with Castro for improvement.

                  Journalists, activists and human rights workers, said the report, all faced
                  "steady government repression."

                  Fujimori criticized

                  The report says political pressure in anticipation of a re- election campaign
                  by Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has contributed to alleged human
                  rights abuses against guerrillas there.

                  Government forces continued to battle Shining Path guerrillas in remote
                  areas of Peru. Fujimori's administration is accused of violating human rights
                  contained in Peru's constitution in an attempt to destroy the insurgency.

                  Other alleged violations by Peru's government include torture of suspects
                  while in police custody, "brutal ill-treatment" of draftees within the military
                  and a secret campaign by the National Intelligence Service to intimidate
                  journalists and human rights advocates.

                  Report praises Chile

                  But the report praised Chile for government actions in the wake of
                  Pinochet's arrest in London in an effort to extradite him to Spain for trial on
                  charges of torture during his rule.

                  Following Pinochet's arrest, several other Chilean officials accused of crimes
                  during his authoritarian regime in the 1970s and '80s were detained, charged
                  and prosecuted.

                  But Chilean laws enacted under Pinochet that suppress freedom of
                  expression continued to be enforced, the report said.

                  In Mexico, the report cited "serious and widespread" violations within the
                  judicial system, despite government efforts announced last year to improve
                  human rights.

                  Many of the alleged violations were listed as questionable arrests, torture
                  and "arbitrary detention" by police, soldiers or prosecutors. Public outcry
                  that something be done to fight Mexico's "skyrocketing" crime rate, said the
                  report, has pressured officials to bend or even break the rules.

                  In Venezuela, the report says, the effort by President Hugo Chavez to
                  rewrite the nation's constitution have created "uncertain prospects for human
                  rights."

                  A national referendum on the new constitution is scheduled for next week.
                  Human Rights Watch says it fears Chavez may use his popularity to
                  undermine Venezuelan rights.

                  Haitian violence reaches 'disturbing levels'

                  In Haiti, the report said police violence has reached "disturbing levels," after
                  decreasing for two years in a row. It blamed the Haitian National Police for
                  50 killings in the second quarter of 1999.

                  The report also held police responsible for summary executions of suspected
                  gang members. Human Rights Watch calls the executions vengeance for
                  police killed by gang members.

                  Police beatings of suspects in custody increased, according to the report,
                  which described Haiti's justice system as "largely dysfunctional."

                  The survey said 81 percent of some 2,700 detainees in Haiti were still
                  awaiting trial.

                  Human rights in Guatemala, the group said, were still affected by the recently
                  ended 35-year-long civil war.

                  Alleged military atrocities committed against leftists have yet to be resolved.
                  And the report said a marked increase in mob-style lynchings against petty
                  criminals is a growing problem.

                  Argentina, Human Rights Watch says, has a "rampant" problem with police
                  brutality. The report blamed federal and local authorities, a "lack of political
                  will" among the nation's leadership to confront the problem, and police
                  reluctance to take punitive action against fellow officers.

                  In Brazil, the report said the judicial system was failing to punish members of
                  the police and military accused of murder, despite "overwhelming" evidence
                  of their guilt.