THE "U.S. DESIGNS ON THE AMAZON" MYTH RESURFACES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002840

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS MARR PE EC
SUBJECT: THE "U.S. DESIGNS ON THE AMAZON" MYTH RESURFACES
IN PERU

REF: A. USDAO LIMA 2808


B. 04 LIMA 5696

Classified By: Ambassador Curtis Struble for Reason 1.4 (B, D)


1. (S) SUMMARY. The Ambassador and a USDAO member have
confronted Peruvian officials concerning a Peruvian Army
officer's briefing at a bilateral intelligence conference in
Quito that depicted the U.S. as the principal security threat
to Peru, and alleged that the U.S. had plans to take over the
Amazon Basin. The Peruvian Army's Director of Intelligence
apologized for his subordinate's presentation, which he said
did not reflect the views of the Peruvian Army. The Foreign
Ministry's Director of Security Issues responded that in
Peru's interagency National Security Council there had never
been even a hint that the U.S. was a potential threat. He
added, however, that a number of military officers had asked
him whether there was substance to the misinformation about
U.S. designs on the Amazon. Defense Minister Chiabra told
the Ambassador that this negative view of the U.S. was
totally contrary to official institutional policy, but he
acknowledged that there was a paranoid viewpoint among some
officers. Chiabra said he would use military instruction and
other official channels to combat this disinformation. END
SUMMARY.


2. (S) Ref A reports on a USDAO member's meeting with the
Peruvian Army's Director of Intelligence, Brigadier General
Pedro Beingolea Gutierrez, regarding a briefing given by one
of Beingolea's subordinates, Colonel Victor Tenorio, at a
bilateral intelligence conference in Quito. Information had
become available to U.S. authorities indicating that
Tenorio's briefing: depicted the United States as the
principal external security threat to Peru; alleged that the
U.S. had plans in place to take over and internationalize the
Amazon Basin; and claimed that the U.S. intended to convert
the armed forces of the region into police-like entities that
would be incapable of resisting U.S. aggression. Per Ref A,
BG Beingolea had been unaware of the content of the briefing
given by Col. Tenorio, but apologized profusely after
confirming the information presented by the DAO member,
indicating that the briefing did not reflect the position of
the Peruvian Army.


3. (S) The Ambassador discussed this incident on 6/22 with
Foreign Ministry Director of Security and Defense Issues Daul
Matute. Matute said that as Security Director, he sat on the
interagency board that assessed potential threats to Peru's
sovereignty, and said there had never been even a whisper in
that body that the U.S. was a potential threat. He added,
however, that a number of military officers had asked him at
different times about the claim that a U.S. textbook outlines
a plan to seize control of the Amazon on behalf of the USG,
so he knew that this bit of misinformation had some currency.
He had repeatedly explained, he said, that the text story is
fraudulent and was concocted by someone in Brazil. He spoke
of his own desire to promote a richer exchange between the
U.S. and Peruvian militaries, and regretted that Article 98
restrictions have complicated this.


4. (S) At a 6/23 meeting, the Ambassador raised the issue
with DefMin Chiabra. The Ambassador said he had initially
assumed that such a briefing could not have been given to
another government unless it reflected an approved Army
position. The Ambassador accepted the apology and assurances
General Biengolea gave to USDAO, but nonetheless wished to
bring the matter to Chiabra's attention. This theory of U.S.
designs on the Amazon was born about 40 years ago in a
Brazilian war college. Considering the premise laughable,
the U.S. did not act to counter it. Over time the theory
became entrenched. The Ambassador gave Chiabra a copy taken
from the internet of the fake "textbook" map of a
U.S.-dominated Amazon Basin, and of the Brazilian Embassy in
Washington's acknowledgment that it was a forgery, to
illustrate the sort of misinformation going around.


5. (S) Chiabra thanked the Ambassador for handling the issue
by coming to him personally and quietly in this way. He
noted that the Defense Ministry had set up an interagency
National Security Council to review threats, and had
published a White Paper on Defense towards the same end.
Those processes, which did not reflect a U.S. threat,
represented the institution's views, not Col. Tenorio's
briefing. Chiabra said it was worrisome to imagine colonels
having the prerogative of making their own policies;
hypothetically, a briefing could assert a territorial or
maritime boundary claim contrary to GOP policy.


6. (S) Leaving aside the specific instance, Chiabra agreed
that MinDef needed to make a low-key ("suave") effort to deal
with what he acknowledged was a problematic viewpoint among
some elements of the armed forces. Chiabra said that a
confluence of events -- the arrest of several senior
generals, the drastic cutbacks in military budgets, Article
98-mandated cutbacks in U.S. assistance/engagement, a
conspiracy theory book floating around and the disinformation
about U.S. designs on the Amazon -- were feeding a paranoid
train of thought among some officers. Chiabra said that he
would discuss this issue with the Joint Command and the
Service Chiefs. They needed to keep an eye on military
instruction and otherwise make enhanced low-key efforts to
combat this disinformation. (NOTE: Per Ref B, the
"conspiracy theory book" may be an allusion to Peruvian
investigative journalist Ricardo Uceda's "Death in the Little
Pentagon," which detailed alleged systematic, extra-judicial
elimination of 300 subversives by Peruvian Army Intelligence
during the 80s and 90s. END NOTE.)


7. (S) COMMENT. The theory that the U.S is behind a covert
plot to seize the Amazon Basin is a hydra-like myth that
keeps coming back no matter how often it's quashed,
especially now with internet diffusion at the push of a
button. The disturbing element here is the ease and temerity
with which so patently false a supposition was aired in an
international forum. The incident highlights the need to
work with our GOP contacts to convey the message at all
levels that the U.S. seeks to work with Peru in partnership,
not as adversaries. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE