PERU RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR FROM VENEZUELA IN

UNCLAS LIMA 000055 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PE VE SUBJECT: PERU RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR FROM VENEZUELA IN RESPONSE TO CHAVEZ' ENDORSEMENT OF HUMALA REF: LIMA 30 ¶1. The Peruvian Government recalled its Ambassador to Caracas, Carlos Urrutia, for consultations in response to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's virtual endorsement of Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala at an event honoring visiting Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales on 1/3 (Reftel). The Foreign Ministry issued a press statement explaining that Chavez' actions, "Constituted an interference in the internal affairs of Peru," and that his remarks, "did not coincide with international law, or with the norms and principles of the Inter-American system, which obliges democratic states to not intervene in the affairs of other countries." ¶2. Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in comments to the media on 1/4, noted that the Council of Ministers had discussed Chavez remarks on 1/4, and that Foreign Minster Oscar Maurtua, "was taking appropriate action." On the other hand, Ollanta Humala, during a 1/5 press conference, termed the GOP's action "improper." ¶3. COMMENT: As noted in Reftel, the GOP recognized that it had to respond "appropriately" to Chavez' incursion into Peru's presidential campaign. The temporary recall of Peru's Ambassador, along with the public explanation tying this directly to Chavez' comments, may not faze Venezuela's leader, but it at least demonstrates that at least one South American country is prepared to stand up to his intromissions in its domestic politics. END COMMENT. STRUBLE