-Caveat Lector- from - http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020122/wl/peru_us_montesinos_1.html
Tuesday January 22 6:43 PM ET U.S. Knew of Peru Spy's Trouble By MONTE HAYES, Associated Press Writer LIMA, Peru (AP) - U.S. officials continued working closely with Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos in the anti-drug fight despite an army officer's tip that he was involved with death squad killings, newly declassified documents show. The officer, a self-described member of a military death squad, offered in 1993 to provide U.S. officials with information linking Montesinos to the group, according to a U.S. Embassy cable released Tuesday. The latest declassified reports provide the clearest indication yet that U.S. officials were aware early on that Montesinos, a key American ally in the drug war, was involved with a death squad. Montesinos was former President Alberto Fujimori (news - web sites)'s right-hand man for a decade, until a corruption scandal involving the spy chief ended Fujimori's 10 years in power in November 2000. Montesinos is now in a navy prison awaiting trial on dozens of charges involving corruption, arms smuggling, drug trafficking and directing a death squad. Peruvian authorities say a group called Colina, made up of members of military intelligence, was responsible for several massacres in the early 1990s of suspected collaborators of the Mao-inspired Shining Path insurgency. They said that in November 1991 its members shot to death 15 people in what's become known as the Barrios Altos massacre. In July 1992 the Colina group killed nine students and a professor at La Cantuta University. A U.S. Embassy document dated January 1993 states: "An army officer who allegedly belonged to an army intelligence/National Intelligence Service (SIN) group that carried out the November 1991 Barrios Altos massacre is willing to speak out.'' The paper said an intermediary "who is well known to us" told the embassy that "the officer, who claims he did none of the actual shooting, wants U.S. help in resettling in a third country." "Reportedly he can identify officers who belonged to the special group, testify about the group's ... killings and link SIN adviser (and Fujimori's closest adviser) Vladimiro Montesinos ... to the Barrios Altos and other killings." The testimony could have been devastating to the Fujimori regime, which had denied it was involved in death squad activity. Release of the document will likely draw heavy criticism from political leaders, who have complained that the U.S. government could have done more to protect Peru from Montesinos. The embassy document, signed by Charles Brayshaw, then deputy chief of mission, goes on to caution that a U.S. role "in assisting the officer to speak out would become a major sore point in bilateral relations. It would, however, contribute significantly to our human rights goals." In the document Brayshaw requests that "Washington advise us on what we can tell the officer." Neither the 1993 document nor others released Tuesday indicate what position the State Department took. "Cables go up from here and they often don't get responses, or cable responses, maybe just a phone call to talk about it," embassy spokesman Douglas Barnes said. He said he could not comment on the specific cable because he was not familiar with its contents. In May 1993 the army's third-ranking officer, Gen. Rodolfo Robles, publicly disclosed the existence of the Colina death squad and Montesinos' involvement with it. He took refuge in the U.S. Embassy, then fled to exile in Argentina. In February 1994, a military court sentenced nine soldiers for the La Cantuta killings. Among the convicted was Army Maj. Santiago Martin Rivas, the alleged leader of Colina. But in June 1995 Fujimori signed an amnesty law that freed the nine and protected other human rights violators in the security forces from prosecution. The 41 documents made available Tuesday were declassified in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the National Security Archive in Washington. In early January, other declassified U.S. documents said embassy officials had received a report from an unidentified former military intelligence officer only days after Fujimori took office in 1990 that Montesinos was organizing paramilitary death squads to fight leftist rebels. The cable noted that the embassy could not independently confirm the secret plan. Those documents, declassified at the request of a Peruvian congressional committee investigating Montesinos, also showed that U.S. officials considered Montesinos a "close collaborator" in fighting drugs but were concerned that he had "a significant amount of negative baggage." In response to the release of those documents, U.S. Ambassador John Hamilton said U.S. officials' hands were tied since Fujimori had designated Montesinos as the official liaison for intelligence and anti-drug matters. "He was there. We had to deal with him. He was a reality," Hamilton said. "I think we dealt with him in a way consistent with our commitment to democracy and human rights throughout the 10 years." - On the Net: National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/7/8nsarchiv/ ===== from - http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020116/n16143279_1.html Wednesday January 16, 4:08 pm Eastern Time Peru's AeroContinente to begin Madrid route by Feb LIMA, Peru, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Peru's fast-growing airline Aero Continente said Wednesday it would begin flights to Madrid -- its first European route -- as soon as February. "We hope to be flying (to Madrid) by the end of February," Aero Continente President Lupe Zevallos told Reuters after a ceremony inaugurating three Boeing 767-200s into the airline's fleet of some 20 aircraft. Aero Continente, Peru's biggest carrier and known for its aggressive pricing, is one of Latin America's fastest growing airlines. It flies to eight Latin American countries and the United States and boasts some 60 percent of Peru's air travel market. The unlisted airline has said it hoped to expand its European roster to include London, Lisbon, Rome and Paris. Zevallos, meanwhile, denied accusations the airline had links to drug trafficking. Peru's leading El Comercio newspaper reported Wednesday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was investigating the airline's founder, Fernando Zevallos, for alleged drugs links. "What they are trying to do is eclipse Aero Continente's successes," Zevallos told reporters, accusing El Comercio of bias against Aero Continente and links to rival LanPeru, the Peruvian unit of LanChile. "We are going to show point by point that (the charges) don't wash," she said. No one at LanPeru was immediately available for comment. Fernando Zevallos has been accused of accepting at least $1 million from drug runners to help found the airline, as well as of having had links to Peru's jailed ex-spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos. He denies those charges. "It's a commercial war," he said. The airline's operations in Chile, where it ranks second after LanChile, were grounded for nearly two months last year amid a money laundering inquiry. Aero Continente said that setback cost the airline up to $1.5 million a day. ===== from - http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020110/wl/japan_peru_fujimori_dc_1.html Thursday January 10 6:42 AM ET Peru's Fujimori Ends Seclusion, Defends His Record By Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori (news - web sites), charged in Lima with human rights abuses, ended 14-months of seclusion on Thursday with a passionate defense of his rule, which he said had brought unprecedented peace to Peru. In a 90-minute lecture at a Tokyo university, his first public appearance since being sacked as president in November 2000, Fujimori also made a veiled criticism of the current administration in Peru and defended his record in ridding the country of terrorism. "Ten years changed the history of Peru," he said. ``After 1990, people were able to enjoy a peace they had never known. "Nevertheless...politicians today and some residents have forgotten what the social circumstances were before that and are attacking those who had fought for peace." Fujimori entered the lecture hall of Takushoku University under tight security as TV cameras rolled, cameras flashed and sustained applause filled the room. Hundreds of students, many of whom seemed to know little about the former president, showed up to hear Fujimori speak, while dozens of Peruvian and Japanese demonstrators gathered outside the campus gates to protest his presence. "Fujimori, face justice in Peru!" read some of their banners. Fujimori, who ruled Peru with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000, fled to his parents' native Japan in November 2000 after his top aide, Vladimiro Montesinos, triggered a huge corruption scandal. "Why is this person speaking about terrorism? He is the number one terrorist in Peru. Fujimori and Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), they are the same!" Miguel Kikuchi, a Peruvian living in Japan, told Reuters. Speaking in Spanish with Japanese interpretation, Fujimori thanked the well-known private university for inviting him and began his lecture by describing the "disastrous" state of Peru's economy and social stability when he took office. "Imagine an inexperienced president having to confront this situation," he said. "No one believed I would be able to fight terrorism, especially with all the other problems accompanying it, such as poverty and staggering levels of inflation." At the end of the lecture, in which he described the violent activities of rebel groups Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), Fujimori lauded his own efforts in crushing terrorism in the country. Fujimori will receive an undisclosed fee for his lecture and hold the honorary title of visiting professor for the rest of the school year, which runs through March, the university said. The Peruvian embassy in Tokyo declined comment on Fujimori's appearance at the university. But the invitation to speak is seen as a slap in the face for Lima, which has firmly and repeatedly urged Tokyo to return Fujimori to face trial in Peru for various criminal charges, including alleged corruption and human rights violations. JAPAN CONNECTION The Japanese government has said it would not extradite Fujimori since he has Japanese as well as Peruvian citizenship. Japan, which does not extradite its citizens, has no extradition treaty with Peru. Fujimori maintains he has committed no crimes, saying he will not return to Peru since he would not receive a fair trial there. The stand-off with Lima over Fujimori has Japan in an awkward position since Tokyo -- and in particular powerful forces in Japan -- feels indebted to him for the rescue of hostages held by MRTA rebels at the Japanese ambassador's home in Peru in 1997. In a dramatic but controversial end to the 126-day hostage crisis, Fujimori sent troops to kill the 14 MRTA rebels and free the hostages. One of the 72 hostages and two soldiers died in the rescue. Some experts believe Fujimori is protected in Japan because the resolution of the hostage crisis strengthened his ties with then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who as a key figure in Japan's ruling party still retains major political clout. Other influential public figures including popular Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara have openly declared their support for Fujimori since he arrived in Japan. The university justified its decision to ask Fujimori to lecture by saying he had a right to free speech. "Japan is a democratic and free nation. Even if a person is considered a criminal in another country, we think it is a great thing to give him a chance to speak in public," Toshio Watanabe, a Takushoku professor, told a news conference after the lecture. Peru's cabinet ministers and jurists believe allegations that Fujimori ordered the execution of some of the 14 MRTA guerrillas are among the strongest cards in seeking an extradition. Legislators and government investigators are also probing allegations that Fujimori's government ran a broad network that benefited from bribes, espionage and corruption. Despite all the accusations, Fujimori earned international praise for crushing a decade and a half of leftist rebel violence that killed some 30,000 people in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru. ===== from - http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020125/wl/peru_fujimori_2.html Friday January 25 3:50 PM ET Peru Issues New Warrant for Fujimori LIMA, Peru (AP) - Peru's Supreme Court has issued its second international arrest warrant for disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori (news - web sites), court officials said Friday. Justice Jose Lecaros issued the warrant Thursday on charges that Fujimori illegally paid his former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos $15 million to leave his post without a fight, court spokeswoman Carmen Abrisqueta said. Fujimori has been in self-exile in his parents' native Japan since November 2000, when a corruption scandal surrounding Montesinos ended his 10-year rule. Japan granted Fujimori citizenship shortly after his arrival and has refused to extradite him on the first arrest warrant, which charges that he sanctioned a paramilitary death squad. Japanese law prohibits the extradition of citizens to face trial for crimes committed in other countries. Despite that, the justice said he was hopeful. "We hope that in this new process, with other charges and the existence of other types of evidence, they will proceed to arrest him" and extradite him, Lecaros told the Radioprogramas radio station. Prosecutors allege that Fujimori signed a secret decree in September 2000 to divert $15 million in defense funds to pay off Montesinos, the ex-president's top aide for a decade. At the time, Fujimori was under pressure from public opinion and other governments, including Washington, to fire the spymaster. Montesinos reportedly demanded the $15 million as severance pay. Fujimori also faces an international arrest warrant accusing him of homicide and forced disappearance for allegedly sanctioning two massacres by a paramilitary death squad in the early 1990s. He is also charged with abandonment of office and dereliction of duty. The former president denies any criminal wrongdoing. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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