Archive for January, 2008
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Peruvian doctors ended their national strike Tuesday following a 15-point agreement with Health Minister Hernán Garrido-Lecca. The president of the Peruvian Medical Federation, Julio Vargas, told daily La República that members of the doctors’ union unanimously voted to end the 21-day strike ahead of a meeting with Garrido-Lecca.
According to the daily, the agreement will amalgamate the different organs of Peru’s health sector under one system. The new system will reportedly include the health ministry, the health system for Peru’s military and police and Essalud, the public health insurance service. La Fuente added that doctors’ wages in the health ministry system will also improve.
The agreement follows tensions in the conflict which peaked on Monday. Doctors threatened to prematurely release patients from public hospitals in order to intensify their strike and increase pressure on the government. Garrido-Lecca responded by calling the plan an illegal act and threatened to file criminal charges against the doctors if they followed through.
Posted in Health Care | No Comments »
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Explosions on an oil tanker in northern Peru and a subsequent fire on the ship injured at least 15 people and caused an oil spill 30 km offshore from Zorritos, Tumbes Deparment, on the north coast near Ecuador. The Supe, a 1400-ton, Class C tanker, was on lease from the Peruvian navy to the oil company BPZ Energy, which used the tanker to transport crude oil and natural gas from its offshore platform in Block Z-1. The mayor of Zorritos, Tito de Lama, told Radio Programas radio there were three explosions on the ship which were likely caused by a short circuit. At the time of the explosions the tanker was reportedly stationed at the oil platform. It was later moved 2 kilometers, about 1.2 miles, away from the platform for safety precautions. Initial reports said that the oil platform was not damaged. (more…)
Posted in Energy, Environment | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
The head of Peru’s anti-narcotics unit, General Miguel Hidalgo, announced that they will begin preliminary investigations into 124 companies and some 77 people suspected of money laundering. The investigation surrounds the Sánchez Paredes family, which is suspected of using the companies to hide decades-old profits from drug trafficking.
According to Agencia Andina, the investigations will include the Sánchez Paredes siblings: Santos Orlando, Amanda Francisca, Segundo Manuel, Fortunato Wilmer and Blanca Azucena as well as their mother, Marcelina Príncipe.
Police suspect the Sánchez Paredes family has been involved in the drug trade since 1976, supplying cocaine to Mexican and Colombian cartels, including the Medellín cartel, which was ruled by Colombia’s former drug baron, Pablo Escobar.
“We are looking for a sharp investigation with testimonies, expertise, evidence and corresponding surveys,” said Hidalgo. “When finished we’ll have an impeccable report that will allow the judiciary to press charges accordingly.” (more…)
Posted in Coca, Cocaine, Criminal Justice | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Authorities in northern Peru have set aside 43 hectares, about 106 acres, for a nature reserve to protect the Humboldt penguin, one of 17 penguin species native to South America’s Pacific coast, according to Wilfredo Sandoval in a report in the daily El Comercio. The proposed reserve is to be at La Farola, on the shores near the port of Eten, about 750 kilometers north of Lima in Chiclayo province, Lambayeque department.
According to El Comercio, the project is backed by French researchers from the Doué de la Fontaine zoo, who are in charge of creating a habitat for the penguins that will include a deep pool surrounded by protected areas for their nest burrows.
The initial investment for the reserve is reportedly $12,000, which includes the transportation cost of 12 Humboldt penguins from a Lima-based zoo to the reserve. (more…)
Posted in Environment, Tourism | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
The Peruvian Medical Federation voted to postpone releasing patients prematurely from public hospitals as part of their ongoing national strike over health care investment and improved salaries. According to Radio Programs radio, the union’s president, Julio Vargas, said they would wait 48 hours in the hope of opening dialogue with Health Minister Hernán Garrido-Lecca in order to end the 20-day strike.
The announcement to release the patients without proper treatment received swift reaction from Garrido-Lecca, who threatened to file criminal charges against the striking doctors if they followed through with their plan.
“If doctors dare to do that, they are committing an illegal act. It is an offense, it is a criminal act and it will be penalized as such,” Agencia Andina reported Garrido-Lecca saying. The minister also said that patients would be transferred to army and police hospitals if they were released without proper treatment from Peru’s public hospitals.
About 13,000 doctors began the national strike on Jan. 8 demanding, among other things, improved salaries and working conditions.
Posted in Health Care, Politics | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Peru successfully concluded a free trade agreement with Canada on Saturday as both countries look to diversify their markets ahead of fears of a possible recession in the United States. Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister, Mercedes Aráoz, sealed the deal with her Canadian counterpart, David Emerson, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where they later made the announcement.
The agreement immediately eliminates tariffs on 97 percent of Peruvian exports to Canada, with the remaining tariffs to be shelved over three to seven years. The deal also eliminates tariffs on 94 percent of Canadian exports to Peru, with the rest to be lifted over a period of five to 10 years.
“It’s big news because it guarantees growth and Canadian investment in Peru,” said President Alan García on Saturday. “It guarantees that in 2008 we will have new room to grow, every time taking Peru’s name to better geographic places and economies around the world.” (more…)
Posted in Business | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
The head of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, SPDA, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, sat down for an interview with daily El Comercio to discuss the creation of Peru’s future Environment Ministry and its relation to the country’s mining industry, one of the largest in the world.
Pulgar says the Environment Ministry must be able to regulate the environmental impact of mining. “A ministry that overlooks a widespread topic like mining has to be able to regulate. If not, it becomes a coordinator,” says Pulgar.
Without the ability to regulate, the ministry would have the same powers as the National Environmental Council, Conam, which he says “has lost credibility and become unmanageable.” “Citizens are demanding an entity that will be able to provide answers to mining.” (more…)
Posted in Environment, Mining, Politics | No Comments »
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
A second police chief in Peru’s southern Ayacucho Department has been arrested for drug trafficking in less than two weeks. Captain Carlos Izaguirre, 46, from the small town of Quinua, in Huamanga province, was arrested Jan.24 with officer Ernesto Ramos, 41, for allegedly reselling cocaine that had been confiscated in their jurisdiction, according to daily La República.
The men were reportedly arrested in the city of Huamanga, capital of Ayacucho Department and 35 km from their Quinua jurisdiction, after police found traces of cocaine in their vehicle.
A police search of Ramos’s home also turned up $3,400, a fortune considering Peru’s police reportedly earn on average 800 soles, or less than $300, a month. The daily reported that examinations of the bills also found traces of cocaine. (more…)
Posted in Cocaine, Corruption, Criminal Justice | No Comments »
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
Peruvian police have arrested a 20-year-old computer science student accused of hacking into the websites of three Peruvian newspapers in early January. According to daily Correo, Diego Luis Bardales, alias Sdm, is suspected of leading a campaign against Peru’s media calling for authorities to release Cyber Alexis, the alias of César Alexis Atoche, 23, who was arrested a week earlier. Atoche is accused of, among other things, siphoning some $833,000 in online fraud.
The sites of daily Ojo and daily Correo were temporarily shut down on Jan. 7 after a hacker called Sdm posted messages calling for authorities to “free Cyber Alexis” and “you protect the streets, leave the net to us.” The hacker, turned cracker, also erased the text of daily Expreso’s web page, leaving it blank.
Posted in Criminal Justice, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Peru’s Foreign Relations Ministry announced Wednesday that it has begun legal action to revoke a Peruvian woman’s trademark registration of a popular Peruvian dance in Chile. Cecilia Gurmendi, a former Marinera national champion in Peru, registered “Marinera” with Chile’s Trademark Registry in the Department of Industrial Property in November 2007.
The Foreign Relations Ministry says Marinera, was declared a National Cultural Heritage in 1986, which restricts individuals and institutions from registering it as a trademark.
Marinera is a popular couple’s dance on the Peruvian coast, which traditionally uses bugles, guitars and the cajón, an Afro-Peruvian box drum played by slapping the front face with the hands. Often called the National Dance of Peru, the Marinera origins is generally traced to 19th century Peru.
The registration of Marinera in Chile has received wide coverage by Peru’s media, amid fears that it may become identified as Chilean. Peru and Chile already have many longstanding arguments over nationalistic claims to their cultural heritage including ceviche, a popular seafood dish, and pisco, a regional brandy made in the countries wine-producing regions and the main ingredient for the pisco sour.
Posted in Law, Media, Tourism | No Comments »
