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November 1, 2007
Off To Peru
I'm off to Peru for a few weeks. I'll be back eventually. Don't try to rob me, because the house is booby trapped, and Mark and Bud are watching it like a hawk and Bud used to kill people for a living so, if you're looking for places to break into, this is a bad choice. A very bad choice.
This is what the U. S. State Department has to say about Peru:
"The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) terrorist group is still active, and sporadic incidents of Shining Path violence have occurred in the recent past in rural provinces of Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Junin and San Martin."
[snip]
"A peace treaty ending the Peru/Ecuador border conflict was signed on October 26, 1998. The Peruvian Government is working to remove mines and unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict, but crossing or approaching the Peru-Ecuador border anywhere except at official checkpoints can still be dangerous."
[snip]
"Violent crime, including carjacking, assault, and armed robbery is common in Lima. ... "Express kidnappings," in which criminals kidnap victims and seek to obtain funds from their bank accounts via automatic teller machines, occur frequently. Thieves often smash car windows at traffic lights to grab jewelry, purses, backpacks, or other visible items from a car. This type of assault is common on main roads leading to Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport, specifically along De la Marina and Faucett Avenues and Via de Evitamiento, but it can occur anywhere in congested traffic, particularly in downtown Lima. Travelers are encouraged to put all belongings, including purses, in the trunk of a car or taxi. Passengers who hail taxis on the street have been assaulted. Following the May 2003 armed robbery of a U.S. Embassy employee by a taxi driver, the Embassy’s Regional Security Officer advised all embassy personnel not to hail taxis on the street. "
[snip]
"Crime also occurs on roads, particularly at night and outside of urban areas. Clandestine, impromptu roadblocks can appear on even major highways, where bus and automobile passengers are robbed. The risk is even greater on rural roads after dark."
[snip]
"In jungle areas east of the Andes mountain range (cordillera), chloroquine-resistant malaria is a serious problem. Cholera, yellow fever, hepatitis, dengue fever and other exotic and contagious diseases are also present. Yellow fever is endemic in certain areas of Peru; in general, those areas are located on the eastern side of the cordillera and at lower elevations in jungle areas. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Peruvian government recommend that travelers to Peru receive a yellow fever vaccination and carry documentation of the vaccination with them on their trip. Diarrhea caused by contaminated food or water is very common in Peru, and is potentially serious. If suffering from persistent symptoms, seek medical attention. Local tap water in Peru is not considered potable."
What I remember most about Peru was when President Fujimori ordered the storming of the Japanese embassy in Lima after it was seized by Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement(MRTA) in December of 1996.
And I remember when, a few years later, President Fujimori was running around the streets of Lima, searching desperately, but in vain for his spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who was suddenly appearing on every local channel bribing public officials. And then Fujimori fled the country shortly thereafter.
I never could understand how a Japanese guy ended up running the country of Peru, but, it doesn't matter now as they're both in prison in Peru - Fujimori and Montesinos - and Guzman, as well, for that matter. They keep Guzman, the former head of the Maoist Shining Path guerillas (a.k.a. terrorists), in his own private prison on an island off the coast of Peru. More on the Sendero Luminoso(Shining Path) here.
Update: Also, I searched my archives, because I had some idea that someone famous had been trained down there in Peru at a school similar to the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia and, sure enough, Manuel Noriega trained at the infamous Military School de Chorrillos in Lima. It's a small world, isn't it?
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 1, 2007 at 10:09 PM
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