Peru Expects 80 Countries To Participate In Drug Summit

Authorities from about 80 countries plan to participate in an anti-drugs summit that Peru is to host in June, a top Peruvian official said.

Carmen Masias, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, said the summit will be held from June 25 to 26, state news agency Andina reported.

“We hope that 70 or 80 countries will participate,” Masias said. “At this moment, we are working closely with the prime minister’s office and the Foreign Relations Read more…

Antauro Humala Transferred To Callao Naval Base

Antauro Humala, the brother of President Ollanta Humala, has been transferred to the high-security Callao Naval Base, Peru’s government said Monday.

The National Penitentiary Institute said in a statement that the transfer was due to “repeated violations of penitentiary regulations by the inmate.”

The penitentiary institute, INPE, also said that it took into consideration the “defiant attitude of the inmate with penitentiary personnel and authorities from the Virgen de la Merced prison” which is in the army compound at the Chorrillos militar academy. It said that Antauro Read more…

Gov’t Accepts Resignation Of Official Connected To Illegal Mining

Peru’s government has accepted the resignation of a high-ranking government official who was linked in a media report to illegal gold mining.

Luis Zavaleta, the former director general of hydrocarbons, submitted his resignation to the Ministry of Energy and Mines on Friday, daily Peru.21 reported.

The resignation followed an investigative report published in newspaper El Comercio on the same day that said Zavaleta owned a company called Universal Metal Trading SAC.

Universal Metal Trading was founded in 1999 and describes itself as a company Read more…

Peru Anti-Drug Chief Says Won’t Support Drug Legalization Proposals

Peru’s anti-drug chief ruled out that the Andean country will support a growing call in the region to legalize drugs, an initiative that she says would do little to combat criminal groups that control the multi-billion dollar illicit trade.

Carmen Masias, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, said however that although Peru is against the legalization of drugs it is open to discussing the issue at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Colombia.

A number of current and former Latin American leaders have said that governments should consider legalizing drugs as a way to combat criminal groups Read more…

Ombudsman’s Office Calls For Better Regulations For Police During Social Conflicts

Peru’s national ombudsman has proposed that the government approve regulations that determine the precise means and methods for the use of force by police officers during social conflicts, state news agency Andina reported.

The proposal follows recent clashes between police and protesters. Earlier this month, three people were killed when informal and illegal miners in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the southern Madre de Dios region, confronted police. The miners were protesting new measures that strengthen penalties against illegal mining.

On Tuesday this week, one person was killed and at least 36 injured, including five Read more…

Peru Seeks To Decrease Coca Production By 30% In 2016

Peru’s government approved on Tuesday a five-year national plan that aims to decrease the production of illegal coca by 30% in 2016, and strengthen alternative and sustainable development in the coca-growing valleys.

Premier Oscar Valdes’ office said in a statement that the strategy, which was created by Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, involves eradicating 14,000 hectares of coca in 2012, 18,000 hectares in 2013, and 22,000 hectares in 2014.

In 2015, Peru aims to eradicate 26,000 hectares and in 2016 the goal is to eradicate 30,000 hectares. “These goals will contribute to reducing illegal coca Read more…

Humala Creates Distance With Jailed Brother Antauro

President Ollanta Humala on Sunday tried to distance himself from his brother, Antauro, who has caused a number of headaches for the government and affected the President’s approval rating.

“I want to show my distance with Antauro, in everything that he says,” Ollanta Humala said during a television interview. “I don’t share anything that he says, does or thinks.”

“I am completely separated from him,” the president added.

Antauro Humala is serving a 19-year sentence for the 2005 assault on a police Read more…

Illegal Mining Should be Paying Government 500 M Soles A Year – Sunat

Illegal mining in Peru is costing the country more than 500 million soles (about $190 million) a year, according to tax agency Sunat.

Sunat said Friday that illegal mining produces some 18,000 kilograms of gold per year, which has a value of more than 2.2 billion soles, daily El Comercio reported.

If taxes were paid by the illegal miners, it would be equivalent to more than 500 million soles, or almost 0.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

About 85 percent of informal gold mining in Peru is centered in the south-eastern Read more…

Informal Miners Temporarily Suspend Protests in Madre de Dios

Informal miners in Peru’s south-eastern Madre de Dios department agreed on Thursday to temporarily lift protests that turned deadly on Wednesday, daily El Comercio reported.

The head of the Madre de Dios Mining Federation, Luis Otzuka, said that illegal and informal miners will suspend protests until Monday, when they plan to come to Lima to hold talks with the government.    The Minister of the Environment, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, expects to begin part of the talks this Saturday, although only with miners who accept to work within the mining corridor delimitations drawn up by the ministry.

“The truce will last while dialogue is ongoing. If we enter into real formalization, Read more…

Humala’s Popularity Dips Three Points In Recent Poll

A recent poll, published in newspaper Gestion, found that President Ollanta Humala’s approval rating declined three percentage points in March.

Humala, a 49-year-old former military officer who took office in July, has an approval rating of 55 percent in March, down from 58 percent in February.

Twenty-four percent of respondents said they support Humala because he is fulfilling his campaign promises, while 20 percent said he has a good management.

Manuel Torrado, the director of Datum, the firm that carried out the poll, said the Read more…

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