PERUVIAN COURT SEEKS EXTRADITION OF COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR TO BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT EVO MORALES.
The Procuduria contra el Terrorismo (anti-terrorism prosecutor's office) of Peru has filed criminal charges against journalist Walter Chavez, an advisor to Bolivian President Evo Morales. Chavez has been living in Bolivia as a political refugee since the 1990s and played a prominent role in Morales' strong electoral campaign in 2005 (see NotiSur, 2006-01-06). Peruvian prosecutor Guillermo Cabala and Bolivian congressional opponents of Morales claim he does not deserve the status of refugee and are calling for his extradition to face trial in Peru. Chavez, having become a lightning rod for criticism of the Morales government, has resigned from his government post but is calling on the Bolivian government not to extradite him.
Walter Chavez accused of being ex-MRTA guerrilla
Chavez has long been wanted in Peru for allegedly aiding leftist rebels. He said Jan. 30 that he is innocent and will fight the allegations. "I will comply with what the law indicates," Chavez told reporters in his first public appearance since Bolivian opposition leaders called for his resignation the week before.
Cabala, Peru's chief anti-terrorism prosecutor, told the Associated Press late Jan. 29 that he had asked the courts for an international arrest warrant for Chavez, whom Bolivia says is a political refugee long ago granted asylum.
Cabala said Chavez was arrested in 1990 while allegedly receiving US$10,000 in extortion money from a Peruvian businessman for the Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA), and he is accused of receiving US$5,000 in another case. Chavez was released on bail and disappeared before turning up in Bolivia in 1992. Bolivia granted Chavez political asylum in 1998. "We're going to seek to make him come and answer to justice," Cabala said.
Chavez, who was a leading adviser in Morales' successful 2005 campaign and frequently served as the president's spokesman, said he was innocent. "They accused me of being part of an MRTA cell but they never proved anything against me," he said.
Chavez said he was held and tortured, accused of "charging revolutionary bonds" from businesspeople, but he was released a month later when a prosecutor ordered his release with "conditional liberty." Two years later came the self-coup by President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), and Chavez fled to Bolivia. Chavez met Morales in 2002 after interviewing him for local media. "After that I accompanied him in his electoral campaign."
The MRTA, as well as the larger...
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