Peruvian Defense Minister Rafael Rey Sept. 1 denied reports that he is seeking US military bases in the country, saying his words had been distorted. Rey caused a media splash when he spoke to RPP radio news earlier that day in defense of US plans for military bases in Colombia, saying that they did not pose a threat to the region, and adding: “In Peru, the collaboration with the North Americans against narco-trafficking is very positive, and unfortunately we cannot count on North American aid for the anti-subversive struggle, which is now mixed with the narco-traffic in the zone of the VRAE.” (RPP, Sept 1)
The VRAE—for the Apurímac and Ene River Valley—is a coca-growing region on the eastern edge of the Andes which has seen a recent resurgence of Shining Path guerilla activity. Vice President Luis Giampietri called upon Peru’s Congress Sept. 3 to officially declare the VRAE a “combat zone.” (Notimex, Sept. 3)
The Peruvian goverment is the ony one in the region to support the plan for US bases in Colombia, and has before denied allegations that it is seeking US bases on its own territory.
See our last post on Peru and the VRAE.
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US troops to Peru?
The ex-president of the Peruvian congressional Defense Comission, Edgar Núñez of the ruing APRA party, said in a radio interview that foreign troops should be brought in to assist the operations against Sendero Luminoso remnants in the VRAE. He later said that his remarks had been “misinterpreted.” (La Primera, Sept. 4)
They do seem to be testing the waters, don’t they?