Former Pucallpa mayor acquitted of murder for 2004 slaying of journalist

The former mayor of Peruvian frontier jungle town was acquitted Monday by a Lima court of charges that he ordered the 2004 murder of a radio journalist who had accused him on-air of corruption and cocaine trafficking, Radio Programas Peru reported.

Judge Jorge Aguinaga of Lima’s Superior Court said there was insufficient evidence to convict Luis Valdez of ordering the assassination of radio commentator Alberto Rivera. He added that the prosecutions witnesses provided contradictory testimony. Prosecutors had sought 20 years for Valdez. Read more…

Peru receives 8 combat planes from South Korea

Defense Minister Rafael Rey announced Thursday that South Korea donated eight used light attack aircrafts to Peru, which will be used for training air force pilots and conducting border surveillance and counter-narcotics operations.

Rey told TV Peru the donation of the Cessna-built A-37 Dragonfly combat planes is valued at $66 million. South Korea also donated additional engines and spare parts that the Air Force will use to repair four other aircraft. Read more…

Peru government announces creation of anti-corruption commission

Peru’s government announced the creation of an anti-corruption commission on Tuesday that will design strategies and policies aimed at promoting ethics, transparency and anti-corruption in the country’s civil service and among private citizens.

The High Level Commission for Anti-Corruption will be lead by the president of Peru’s judicial system, Javier Villa, state news agency Andina reported.

“The fight against corruption plays an important role on the side of governance and the consolidation of a democratic constitutional state,” said Villa. “The collection of honorable people is not enough. It is necessary for the State as a whole to be honorable, to comply with its commitments.”

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Sedapal denies irregularities in contract for water treatment plants in San Bartolo

The president of Peru’s state water utility agency, Sedapal, denied on Tuesday irregularities in the agency’s decision to reward a multi-million dollar contract to a newly formed company owned by a former Peruvian soccer player, Radio Programas Peru reported. Read more…

Chile prepares final arguments for maritime border dispute with Peru at The Hague

The chairman of Chile’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jorge Pizarro, said Tuesday his government has prepared its legal case over a maritime border dispute with Peru at the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, in The Hague. Read more…

García: Chilean president-elect will improve relations with Peru

Peruvian President Alan García said on Monday the election of Sebastián Piñera in neighbouring Chile will open a new chapter to improve relations between the two South American countries. Piñera, a conservative billionaire and Harvard-educated economist, defeated former president Eduardo Frei in a second round run off vote on Sunday, ending two decades of center-left rule in Chile. Read more…

Congress approves legislation to reduce costs and overcrowding in Peru’s prisons

The Permanent Commission of Peru’s congress has approved legislation  that will allow some inmates to apply for early release and to finish their sentences outside of prison, in an effort to cut costs and reduce overcrowding in the country’s penal system. Read more…

Peru journalist critical of government jailed for defamation

The founding director of a weekly magazine in Bagua, in Peru’s Amazonas department, was sentenced to a year in prison on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit dating back to 2005.

Journalist Alejandro Carrascal of Nor Oriente magazine said he was unaware of the lawsuit filed against him by the former director of Bagua’s Superior Institute of Technology, Víctor Feria, when he was arrested on Monday, daily La República reported. For his part, Feria told the Coordinadora Nacional del Radio, or CNR, that he was surprised by the sentence delivered by Judge Francisco Miranda, saying he had essentially abandoned the lawsuit more than a year ago. Read more…

IIAP to open office aimed at combating coca leaf production in isolated region

The president of the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute, or IIAP, said Tuesday they would establish an office with support from Peru’s anti-drug agency, or Devida, in the north-eastern Loreto department to combat coca-growing operations promoted by drug traffickers from neighbouring Colombia.

The office will be based in Caballococha, located in the Ramón Castilla province.

“Devida will provide resources to promote productive goods and indirectly eliminate coca leaf production,” IIAP president Luis Campos said in comments to the Coordinadora Nacional de Radio, or CNR. “When people begin to produce fish and native fruits for a good price, they automatically change to healthier, more transparent and more ethical activities.” Read more…

Justice Ministry seeks better security following assassination of prison director

Peru’s vice-minister of justice said on Monday that his ministry will seek additional funding to provide better security for workers in the country’s penal system following the assassination of a prison director over the weekend.

“Some require this personal security,” Vice-Minister of Justice Gerard Castro told Radio Programas Peru. “It is through the Interior Ministry that we’ll find a solution because they provide an important number of officers from the National Police, who provide security to the directors of maximum security prisons.” Read more…

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