U.S. to Return $20 Million to Peru

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. to Return $20 Million to Peru
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: January 11, 2004


Filed at 8:23 p.m. ET

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- The United States plans to return to Peru $20 million stolen by a corrupt government official and stashed in U.S. bank accounts, a U.S. State Department official said Sunday.

Officials will announce the return of the money on Monday, shortly after President Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrive in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey for the Special Summit of the Americas, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The announcement comes a month after the United States signed the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, which requires countries to cooperate in investigations and return funds to the countries where they were stolen. Dozens of other countries have also signed the U.N. treaty.

In December, Peru accused Victor Venero Garrido of hiding the money in U.S. accounts under the guidance of Vladimiro Montesinos.

Montesinos, former President Alberto Fujimori's intelligence chief, is charged with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the government.
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Peru-US.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Montesinos' legacy also has cast the spotlight on his longtime connections with the CIA and his support from U.S. officials.
http://www.freelori.org/news/01apr18_chicagotribune.html

Montesinos and the Jordanian arms-sales operator, Sarkis Soghanaglian
Kupelian, have admitted close connections with the CIA
http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/wsn/2001/msg00814.html

[La_Serpiente]

1. Here is how the trial for Montesinos is going now

http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2004/scene_felch_janfeb04.html

[jmcgowanjm]

2. thank you, La_Serpiente, I added page to favorites

[Judi Lynn]

3. Fantastic article.

First word I've read on it.

Isn't it interesting that at times it seems as if all that has been hidden from U.S. citizens about Latin America can open before us like the pages of a book? This is WONDERFUL.

This man is a real sleaze.



From the article:

(snip) THE SERIES OF PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MONTESINOS, the most important case ever in Peru, has become as much a trial of the country's legal system as it is of Montesinos. Peru is emerging from a decade of corruption unparalleled in its history. Successful convictions would be a turning point for the country, but the challenges of the case are at least as great as its promise. Fujimori and Montesinos built the “Fujisinos Mafia,” a network of corruption so formidable it allowed the duo to control virtually all of the country's institutions. In the decade between Fujimori's surprising election victory in 1990 and the downfall of Fujimori and Montesinos in a corruption scandal in 2000, they may have stolen as much as $1 billion from government coffers through an elaborate system of kickbacks, extortion, and outright theft.

The corruption was often a way to cover the tracks of more serious crimes. Prosecutors say that Montesinos created and commanded the Colina Group, a paramilitary death squad responsible for the murder of dozens of suspected leftists. (snip/...)

Thanks for posting this terrific info.

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. hmmm - the tone of the summit - "bribes" - bullets & bombs won't work here

.
.
. timing is SOOOOOOooooooooo obvious ???