Ana Cecilia Gervasi during a meeting with US congresspersons Bill Pascrell, Jim Himes, and Vicente Gonzalez in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2023. Photo: Twitter/@CancilleriaPeru.
In the midst of anti-government protests in Peru and heavy police repression, Peru’s de facto foreign minister, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, traveled to the US to obtain foreign support.
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry reported that Gervasi would arrive on Monday in Washington, DC, allegedly to strengthen bilateral relations and increase investments.
The visit takes place at the same time that the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), headquartered in DC, will hold an extraordinary session to discuss recent events in Peru. The OAS meeting takes place a week after the president of Peru’s coup regime, Dina Boluarte, gave a speech in which she claimed to have the “full support” of the US government and the OAS.
US supports coup leaders in Peru with natural resources in its sights
According to an announcement by Boluarte’s de facto government issued on Sunday, the Peruvian minister will stay in the United States until February 2. Meanwhile, in Peru, anti-government demonstrations have continued for more than a month and a half, leaving at least 60 dead and hundreds injured due to brutal police repression demonstrating a lack of concern for the population’s basic human rights.
The US embassy in Lima was one of the first to recognize Boluarte as president of Peru following the overthrow of President Pedro Castillo, who was ousted by Congress on December 7 and promptly jailed although Congress had been constitutionally dissolved.
In mid-December, in a letter smuggled out of his prison cell, President Pedro Castillo denounced those involved in a series of plots attempting to remove him from office since his electoral victory in June, 2021. He noted that the US Embassy had expressed its support for Castillo’s arrest and the subsequent violent subjugation of demonstrators. Repression by the police and military had left two dead among the protestors at that time—those deaths now number over 60.
Last Wednesday, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked the US ambassador to Peru, former CIA agent Lisa Kenna, to refrain from further intervening in the Peruvian political crisis.
Busy agenda in DC
On Tuesday, the Peruvian Ministry for Foreign Affairs detailed the busy agenda of its de facto official in Washington DC, who will meet first with the US Chamber of Commerce, then with the chief editor of the Washington Post, Charles Lane.
In addition, the Ministry wrote on its social media accounts that “representatives of multinational corporations in attendance, from the mining, finance, technology and health, among others, renew their commitment” with Peru.
Los representantes de las empresas multinacionales asistentes, de los sectores de minería, finanzas, tecnología, salud, entre otros, renovaron su confianza en el país y destacaron la importancia de continuar promoviendo el comercio e inversiones en el Perú. pic.twitter.com/i5mxGN9EaK
— Cancillería Perú🇵🇪 (@CancilleriaPeru) January 31, 2023
Later, Gervasi met with a small group of Democratic Party congresspersons, including Bill Pascrell, Jim Himes, and Vicente Gonzalez.
On Monday, mainstream outlets reported that a group of Democratic congresspersons and various human rights organizations demanded that US President Joe Biden suspend “immediately” the security assistance granted to Peru until violent repression of protests ends in that country.
Canciller Gervasi sostuvo una reunión con los congresistas demócratas @BillPascrell, @jahimes y @RepGonzalez, miembros del grupo de amigos del Perú en el Congreso de los EE.UU.
Conversaron ampliamente sobre la situación en el país y expresaron su apoyo a la democracia peruana. pic.twitter.com/g0tLck8aYu— Cancillería Perú🇵🇪 (@CancilleriaPeru) January 31, 2023
In a letter, the congresspersons also requested that these funds be frozen until the Peruvian authorities “take measures to investigate crimes against human rights and prosecute those responsible.” The statement is signed by 20 legislators, including Jesús “Chuy” García, Raúl Grijalva, Juan Vargas, Nanette Barragán, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and supported by eight organizations, including the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) and Amazon Watch.
Tuesday’s activities of the Peruvian de facto foreign minister concluded with a meeting at ultra-conservative think tank Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) alongside a delegation of Peruvian businesspeople.
(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
