UN: Regional, Local Govts Need Greater Role In Anti-Drug Policies

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, said Tuesday that Peru’s regional and local governments should take on greater responsibilities in the Andean country’s anti-drug policies, state news agency Andina reported.

Flavio Mirella, UNODC’s representative in Peru and Ecuador, noted that regional and local governments manage solid resources that can be used to combat drug trafficking.

“The responsibility should also be shared at the regional and local government Read more…

Peru’s New Drug Chief: Country “Let Down Its Guard” in Eradication

Peru’s new anti-drug chief, Carmen Masias, said that the country “let down its guard” last year in the eradication of illegal coca crops, the raw material used to make cocaine.

In an interview published by daily El Comercio, Masias said that Peru’s five-year anti-drug strategy will be reviewed and approved by President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet on Wednesday.

Masias, who was appointed earlier this month to head the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs, Devida, said that Peru eradicated about 10,000 hectares of coca last year and is expected to eradicate 14,000 hectares this year.

Masias, a psychologist and former deputy head of the non-government drug prevention institution CEDRO, said that during the first five months of Humala’s administration, the message about eradication was unclear. “I think there could have been a more precise message. It was worked on internally, but you have to be explicit and say that the fight against drugs will be firm, that eradication – while not the only [measure] – is absolutely indispensible,” Masias said.

Masias was referring to her predecessor, Ricardo Soberon, and his plans to move away from attacking the coca growers and instead focus on attacking the structures of drug trafficking organizations, including money laundering.

Masías’ statements indicate a return to the tried and not-too-effective strategies of at least the past 10 years —despite eradication programs, coca hectares have increased from 40,000 to 60,000 in that time— and Valdes has also removed much of Devida’s autonomy, according to Soberon, by blocking its direct access to Dirandro, the drug police agency and instead placing it under the Ministry of Interior’s general administration office.

A lawyer and expert in the illegal drug trade, the outspoken Soberon was head of Devida for about five months and was in favor of a stronger intervention in drug policies by his institution, changing the focus from interdiction and forced crop eradication to a more comprehensive program to incorporate active participation of coca growers in the changes.

His appointment was strongly criticized by some local media, including El Comercio, the political opposition and some analysts of Peru’s drug trade, for his past ties with coca growers.

Soberon fights back

In an interview with Ideeleradio on Monday, Soberon said he had disagreements with cabinet chief Oscar Valdes, who was previously Humala’s Interior minister, about the role of Devida.

His proposals clashed with U.S. and U.N. drug policies, which concentrate on forced eradication, and shortly after his appointment to Devida he was not included in a fact-finding trip to Pucallpa with Valdes and military and police hosted by the U.S. Embassy.

Soberon criticized recent statements made by Masias and Valdes on the greater emphasis to be made on user prevention.

“I would have liked to believe that the idea of  drug policy reform would continue,” Soberon said. “But the first statements and the facts surrounding my leaving the post lead me to believe that Devida is enroute to becoming a State-funded NGO for drug prevention.”

Soberon said he believed that President Humala was being maliciously misinformed about his 2012 Coca Reduction Plan so that drug policies will continue to be a failure.  He also questioned the fact that police general Juan Zárate, head of Corah, the Upper Huallaga eradication program, has remained in Corah for 25 years and “that apparently no cabinet chief or even President has been able” to terminate his services.

Soberon also rejected accusations by congressman Luis Iberico, by Masias herself, and insinuations by cabinet chief Valdes that he had padded the Devida payroll and was earning a “golden” salary. “The salary I had of 15,600 soles was the same that the others before me received, including Romulo Pizarro and Nils Ericsson and every other drug czar in [Devida's] history,” he said, adding that the additional staff was hired to strengthen the seven Devida zone offices.

Peru Aims to Eradicate 14,000 Hectares Of Coca in 2012

Peru’s government plans to eradicate 14,000 hectares of illicit coca crops this year, Interior Minister Daniel Lozada has announced, according to state news agency Andina.

The figure would represent a 40 percent increase from 2011, Lozada said during a presentation to the Congressional defense committee.

“We ended last year with 10,269 hectares eradicated, which was above our goal and for this year we are planning to eradicate 14,000 hectares,” Lozada said.

The United States has been the main financial backer of Peru’s anti-drug policies, Read more…

Court Annuls 2010 Sentence Against Peruvian Blogger

A Peruvian court has annulled a sentence against blogger Jose Alejandro Godoy, who was sentenced in 2010 to three years in prison for defamation, daily La Republica reported.

In 2009, Jorge Mufarech —a former minister of Labor during the Fujimori government and later Congressman for Peru Posible— filed charges against Godoy for a post published on his blog “Desde el Tercer Piso” (From the Third Floor) about threats made by the ex-lawmaker against Julio Arzibu Gonzales, an adviser to Peru’s Nationalist Party (PNP).

In the post, Godoy provides links to various documents, including a letter from Read more…

Van der Sloot Pleads Guilty in Peru Murder

The judges hearing the trial of Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot are expected to announce their sentence Friday, following Van der Sloot’s plea on Wednesday of guilty to the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old University of Lima business administration student.

“I plead guilty and I regret everything that I have done,” Van der Sloot said during a court hearing on Wednesday.

Van der Sloot, who is also the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance in Aruba of US teenager Natalie Holloway, met Flores at a casino in Lima’s Miraflores district.

Read more…

Soberon Resigns as Peru’s Anti-Drug Chief, is replaced by Masias

Psychologist Carmen Masías has been appointed head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, the government announced Tuesday, immediately following the resignation of Ricardo Soberon  just five months after he took office.

The change takes place at a time when many analysts say Peru is at a critical point in tackling its growing drug trade, and in need of new strategies.

Soberon, a lawyer and expert in the illegal drug trade, was appointed to lead Devida in August, shortly after President Ollanta Humala took office. His proposals indicated a stronger intervention in drug policies by his Read more…

Cabinet Chief Valdes Confident Peru Will Win Maritime Border Dispute

The government remains confident that Peru will win its legal dispute with Chile over the countries’ maritime border, according to Cabinet chief Oscar Valdes. The dispute is being heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and a ruling is expected .

Speaking before Congress last week, Valdes said: “The experience and qualifications of those in charge of the defense of the nation’s interests guarantees the quality of our defense.” 

Peru filed its complaint at the ICJ in January 2008, and the Court is expected to announce in February this year the schedule for the oral arguments. Read more…

Int’l Drug Conference to Focus on Alternative Development, Intelligence

An international conference on the drug trade, to be held in Peru in mid-2012, is to focus on rural alternative development and exchanging information, according to Ricardo Soberon, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida.

The conference is planned for June 26 – 27, state news agency Andina reported.

Soberon said the conference is to allow governments to re-evaluate their anti-drug policies and put into practice a principal of shared responsibility for the multi-billion dollar illicit drug trade.

“The idea is to see ourselves as country partners in a situation where we haven’t Read more…

Peru Eyes Brazil for Anti-Drug Support

Peru is looking to its neighbor and Latin America’s biggest economy, Brazil, to support it in its efforts to combat drug trafficking, a high-level government official said.

Jorge Bayona, the Peruvian ambassador in Brasilia, told state news agency Andina that Peru and Brazil are “strengthening” their ties to combat the illicit trade.

Peru is the world’s biggest producer of cocaine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. While the world’s top cocaine consuming countries Read more…

Peru Appoints Garcia-Sayan to Lead Memory Museum Commission

Peru’s government has appointed the current president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to lead the commission in charge of developing the Memory Museum, state news agency Andina reported.

Diego Garcia-Sayan, who is also a former Peruvian Justice Minister and for many years a key figure in the Andean Commission of Jurists, has been appointed to lead the High Level Commission for organizing and developing the musuem, which has been renamed the  Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion Museum, Andina said.

The commission will also include Monsignor Luis Bambaren, bishop emeritus of Chimbote, as well as architects Leopoldo Schelje and Javier Sota, exhibition Read more…

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