PERUVIAN ARMY OFFICER TAKES HIS TROUBLES TO CITY

UNCLAS LIMA 001606

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINS MARR PE
SUBJECT: PERUVIAN ARMY OFFICER TAKES HIS TROUBLES TO CITY
HALL


Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly


1. (U) A Peruvian Army Officer on 4/6 chose an unusual method
to bring attention to a dispute with his superiors.
Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Soto Sarmiento arrived at the
Mayor's Office in the regional capital of Moquegua with 35 of
his troops to denounce alleged mistreatment he had been
submitted to by his commanding officers in the local Third
Army Brigade. Soto made it clear to Mayor Julian Flores he
was not involved in an insurrection, and had come to the
municipal office to seek refuge and protect his rights. A
few minutes after Soto's arrival, Third Brigade Commander
General Carlos La Rosa appeared on the scene and ordered the
35 members of Soto's battalion to return to their barracks.
Soto himself refused to depart, telling reporters he had been
unfairly subjected to an administrative investigation without
the right of self-defense, and that he would not leave until
he was able to contact Defense Ministry representatives in
Lima.


2. (SBU) A DAO member on TDY in Tacna (100 kilometers from
Moquegua) discussed the matter with local counterparts.
Military sources said that Soto had been under investigation
for about a month on charges that he had improperly handled
soldiers' food rations and officers' pay. Soto, currently a
law student, made a counter-claim that his superiors were
guilty of abuse of authority, and had subjected him to
physical and verbal abuse. Soto was about to be relieved of
duty when he made his quixotic march to the Mayor's Office.
The sources said that prior to returning to base with his
troops, General La Rosa met with Mayor Flores to discuss the
incident.


3. (SBU) Foreign Ministry Director General for Defense and
Security Affairs Daul Matute told Polcouns later in the day
that Defense Minister Roberto Chiabra had ordered that Soto
be sent to Lima, and that the officer was already in transit.
STRUBLE