TOLEDO MAKES ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL PICK FOR ARMY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 005365

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MARR PE
SUBJECT: TOLEDO MAKES ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL PICK FOR ARMY
CHIEF

REF: A. LIMA 3474


B. LIMA 5851 (04)

Classified By: Poloff David C. Brooks. Reason: 1.4(b/d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) President Toledo has named a reported personal
favorite, General Cesar Reinoso Diaz, to become Commanding
General of the Army, passing over the three officers who
would normally be considered next in line for the job by Army
guidelines (which include seniority and military merit). Two
of the three will now retire according to military custom.
Similar moves by Toledo one year ago led to the resignations
in protest of the Commanding Generals of the Air Force and
the Army (Ref B). While this incident constitutes no/no
threat to the stability of the Toledo Government, it does
indicate how the President's judgment, when it comes to
hiring and firing, irritates key sectors and works against
sustaining the norms that promote long-term stability in a
key institution. Despite some lingering hard feelings within
the military, we expect business as usual once the dust
settles. END SUMMARY.

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Toledo Reaches Down in the Ranks
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2. (U) President Alejandro Toledo's controversial naming of
General Cesar Reinoso Diaz as Commanding General of the Army
has caused some dissension in the officer corps. News of the
pending decision produced a series of leaks to the press on
12/16 that the three high-ranking generals to be passed over
by Toledo -- Chief of the Joint Staff of the Peruvian Armed
Forces General Alberto Woll Gonzales, Chief of the Northern
Military Region General Jose Williams Zapata, and Chief of
the Staff of the Army General Jesus Reyes Tavera -- would
resign in protest. (Note: Williams Zapata is regarded as a
hero by many -- even some in the human rights community --
for his leading role in the 1997 Chavin de Huantar Operation
where the Peruvian military freed 70 hostages held by MRTA
terrorists at the Japanese Ambassador's Residence. He also
faces charges, along with 28 others, of involvement in the
Accomarca massacre in Ayacucho in 1985 -- Ref A. End Note.)
Generals Woll and Reyes Tavera will now retire. Generals
Reinoso Diaz and Williams Zapata were sworn in as Commanding
General of the Army and Chief of the Armed Forces Joint
Command respectively on 12/19.


3. (U) Reportedly, Reinoso Diaz gained Toledo's confidence
when he served as the Presidential Military Advisor during
the transitional government of former President Valentin
Paniagua and during the first year and a half of Toledo's
term.


4. (U) In describing the alleged tensions within the
military resulting from Toledo's decision, press reports
focused on a similar incident one year ago when President
Toledo and MOD Roberto Chiabra modified the promotion lists
for the Army and the Air Force, prompting the heads of both
institutions to resign. (Both were to retire within the year
anyway - Ref B.)

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Comment:
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5. (C) While President Toledo's naming of Reinoso Diaz as
Commanding General of the Army has caused grumbling, Post
sees no/no threat to the Toledo government's stability or to
the basic loyalty of the Armed Forces. No one has questioned
the President's right to name the Commanding General of the
Army. Instead, many question the wisdom of his choice, which
appears to reflect personal favoritism over institutional
norms for advancement. This frustrates officers who waited
in the ranks and works against institutional stability. That
said, we fully expect military leadership to accept the
President's judgment, albeit with some lingering resentment.
STRUBLE