Defense Minister Ántero Flores-Aráoz denied claims made by opposition leader Ollanta Humala that personnel from the United States military are currently operating in Peru’s jungle region.
Humala said Peruvian military sources told him that U.S. military personnel are operating in the country’s north-east Loreto Department, which shares a porous border with Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, according to Agencia Andina.
“I’m not in charge of the intelligence service, but as a citizen and representative of the opposition I have to be informed about the country, because it is related to our national security,” said Humala.
“I don’t know where he got that from,” Flores-Aráoz told CPN radio. “There is no foreign military presence, not even from the United States, in our country. There is a permanent relation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to fight drug trafficking, but no troops at the moment.”
