Colext/Macondo Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior -------------------------------------------------- M�s le�a, que se quema el monte... PANG (De Mario): U.S. Backed Peru's Decision on Spy http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/breakingnews/US/0,3560,1016138,00.html Friday June 29, 2001 10:50 pm WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials backed Peru's decision to try to get former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos into custody in Venezuela without telling Venezuelan officials, a State Department official said. But William Brownfield, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said Friday that he had no evidence that President Hugo Chavez or other top Venezuelan government officials had been hiding Montesinos. The arrest of Montesinos, South America's most wanted fugitive, has strained relations between Peru and Venezuela. Both countries have recalled their ambassadors. Chavez says Peru sneaked agents into Venezuela to capture Montesinos. Peru has accused Venezuela of ``verbal aggression.'' Montesinos was arrested last weekend, hours after a U.S.-Peruvian plan to capture him seemingly went awry. FBI and Peruvian officials had arranged for Montesinos' own bodyguards to betray him and drive him to the Peruvian embassy Saturday night. But the car carrying Montesinos never showed up. Montesinos turned up hours later in Venezuelan custody and was deported to Peru Sunday. Peru hadn't told Venezuela about its plan to capture Montesinos, apparently wary that Montesinos would be tipped off. The United States agreed with the strategy. ``We did not challenge or did not disagree with the assessment of Peru that the most reliable method to deliver Vladimiro Montesinos to their custody was to deliver him directly to the embassy of Peru,'' Brownfield said. Venezuela had been suspected of harboring Montesinos since he fled Peru in October. Chavez was seen as having a debt to Montesinos: In 1992, while Montesinos controlled much of Peru's security apparatus, Peru gave asylum to Venezuelan military officers involved in a Chavez-led coup attempt. For months, Venezuela had denied Montesinos was in the country. Even after Montesinos' capture, neither the United States nor Peru have accused Venezuela of protecting Montesinos. Brownfield said he was ``not aware that President Chavez or his government were aware of the whereabouts of Montesinos in Venezuela.'' Instead, Brownfield praised Venezuela's quick deportation of Montesinos. ``When confronted with the reality of having Montesinos in their custody, the Venezuelans did the right thing.'' In Caracas, FBI special agent Hector Pesquera said that cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan police has been excellent for many years and that he hoped they would continue to be so in the future. The United States has had a delicate relationship with Chavez. It has been annoyed by his friendship with U.S. foes such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Cuba's Fidel Castro. But it has played down differences, trying to avoid confrontations that could only boost Chavez's nationalist credentials. Venezuela is a leading supplier of oil to the United States. Montesinos is accused of massive corruption while serving as President Alberto Fujimori's right-hand man during his 1990-2000 presidency. He faces 52 court cases on charges including murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, arms dealing and directing death squads. A videotape of Montesinos bribing an opposition lawmaker led to Fujimori's downfall. He lives in exile in Japan, his ancestral homeland. U.S. and Peruvian officials say they caught up with Montesinos after the FBI in Miami arrested one of his bodyguards, a retired Venezuelan intelligence agent, who was trying to withdraw money from an account controlled by Montesinos. To avoid U.S. charges, the bodyguard offered to help find Montesinos. -------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message. Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar
