Peru: Army chief rejects Wikileaks drug claims

A corny joke: denial is not a river in Egypt.

Peruvian army chief Paul da Silva is none too pleased at the implications made by a U.S. diplomatic cable uncovered by the Wikileaks website. The 2009 document from then-U.S. Ambassador Michael McKinley claimed that an unnamed source ''saw signs that (Peruvian army) officers may have continued to cooperate with drug traffickers''. McKinley’s “source” added that in 2007 da Silva met with a business executive who would later be arrested for trying to smuggle several hundred pounds of cocaine hidden inside frozen fish.
Da Silva replied to the accusations by threatening to take legal action against McKinley.

In addition, as reported in a Reuters article:

"This cable is defamatory and is aimed at damaging the honor of the armed forces," Da Silva said. "I can't close doors to people who want to meet with me. I didn't know at the time that this Mr. Velasco was implicated in drug trafficking."

Da Silva blamed Michael McKinley, the former U.S. ambassador to Peru, for writing the "irresponsible" memo and threatened to file a lawsuit against him.

On a related note, another U.S. diplomatic document uncovered by Wikileaks and reported in The Guardian will likely embarrass Jamaican authorities. The previously secret cable cited Cuban officials very “frustrated” at Jamaican antidrug efforts including “ignoring of Cuban attempts to increase the flow of drug-related information” between both countries.

Image- AP via CBS News (“Soldiers march during a military parade commemorating Independence Day in July. The top Army General Paul da Silva was accused in a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable of drug corruption.”)
Online Sources- The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Reuters