SUSPECTED "BOLIVARIAN" TERRORISTS DETAINED AT

UNCLAS LIMA 000390 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT. FOR WHA/AND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL EC PE SUBJECT: SUSPECTED "BOLIVARIAN" TERRORISTS DETAINED AT ECUADORAN BORDER ¶1. (SBU) Agents of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) Anti-Terrorism Directorate (DIRCOTE) February 29 in the northern region of Tumbes arrested seven alleged members of the "Bolivarian Continental Coordinating Committee" (Coordinadora Nacional Bolivariana -- CNB),including the organization's president, according to media reports. The seven reportedly were returning to Peru from Ecuador, where they had taken part in a CNB meeting in Quito. PNP sources reported that the CNB was an umbrella organization, based in Venezuela, that sought to link "terrorist groups" with anti-systemic actors throughout the Andean region. According to press reports, PNP officials said the seven were carrying CNB propaganda and suspected that the group intended to sabotage APEC events taking place in Peru this year. The PNP also believed the seven may have had contact while in Quito with members of Colombia's FARC, and also that the CNB has links to the near defunct Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in Peru. ¶2. (SBU) Government officials, including Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo and Interior Minister Luis Alva Castro, have publicly claimed that Venezuela-funded ALBA houses and other "Bolivarian" groups are seeking to destabilize the GOP during a year in which Peru is in the international limelight. Comment: The government views the security of its high-level international visitors as a top priority; the arrest of the seven suspected radicals underscores its willingness to preempt the threats in the early stages, as necessary. End Comment. NEALON