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From the Vol.1,No.12 issue of Electronic Intelligence Weekly

IBERO-AMERICAN NEWS DIGEST

Anger Sweeps Peru as Heroes of '97 Anti-Terror Rescue Are Arrested

A storm of anger erupted in Peru last week, after the Attorney General issued arrest warrants against 12 military heroes who helped rescue hostages held by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) terrorists in 1997. Seventy-two captives, held for 126 days in the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima by 14 heavily armed narcoterrorists of the MRTA were rescued on April 22, 1997, in a spectacular assault by 140 Peruvian commandos. Two officers gave their lives protecting hostages, whom the MRTA sought to kill as the commandos entered the residence. All of the hostages survived, but one, who, wounded by the MRTA, died on the operating table later.

"Operation Chavin de Huantar," as the rescue was known, which was so brilliantly orchestrated that it took only 15 minutes, not only saved those individual lives, but the nation of Peru itself, by effectively ending over 15 years of war by the MRTA. The intelligence and daring with which the rescue was designed and carried out was recognized the world over, starting with Lyndon LaRouche. In 1998, then U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Charles Wilhelm called the rescue "one of the few resounding victories against world terrorism in the last 20 or 30 years."

Just as EIR warned, the mafiosi installed in power through the Alejandro Toledo government, seek to jail those who risked their lives in that operation—and to nab former President Alberto Fujimori, who was in office during that time, in the process. Attorney General Nelly Calderon issued arrest orders on May 15, charging the 12 officers with summarily executing several MRTA terrorists, during the split-second raid! The case is based on the alleged "forensic findings"—yet to be released—of a team from the Peruvian Institute of Forensic Anthropology, who exhumed and then examined the bodies of the MRTA terrorists killed in the raid. The openly stated intention of those involved, is to charge Fujimori with genocide, for having allegedly ordered the MRTA "executed."

The special prosecutor on human-rights violations, Rolando Gamarra, who is leading the case, was a member of the MRTA's own legal apparatus, according to the newspaper La Razon. Gamarra had given conferences on legal and political issues to an MRTA front called the UDP, where he offered legal justifications for the MRTA insurgency and called on the international community to grant the MRTA status as a "belligerant" force. Although never an open MRTA activist, he was reportedly very close to top MRTA leaders now serving time for narcoterrorism.

The attack could be the downfall of President Toledo. Toledo has been pelted with garbage whenever he appears in public over the past few weeks, by citizens furious at the economic collapse. The arrest warrants caused such an uproar, that Toledo and several Cabinet ministers were forced to declare that the government did not initiate the arrest orders, while at the same time insisting they cannot interfere with the judicial process.

Warfare Explodes in Colombia on Eve of Presidential Election

Warfare broke out in the streets of Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, in the early morning hours of May 21, when a combined military-police force attempted to raid and shut down an illegal weapons factory operated by entrenched urban militias of the FARC and ELN narcoterrorists. The ensuing 12-hour gun battle spread into four neighborhoods in the densely populated northern area of the city, ultimately leading to nine deaths and 37 wounded.

The fighting occurred on the eve of Presidential elections, slated for May 26, and confirms military-intelligence estimates that the new strategy of the FARC/ELN is to focus on creating maximum terror and chaos in Colombia's cities. This is the first time that an armed confrontation between state defense forces and the narcoterrorists has broken out in a major urban center, and it is noteworthy that this occurred in the home town of Presidential frontrunner Alvaro Uribe Velez, a former mayor of Medellin.

Argentina's Duhalde Grovels Before IMF at Madrid Summit

"Argentina's future depends, in large part, on an agreement with the IMF," declared Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, in a statement which typified the discussion on Argentina at last weekend's summit in Madrid of heads of state from the European Union, Central and South America, and the Caribbean region. Aznar blustered: "This is why we have indicated and urged President Duhalde to adopt, without delay all the measures which will lead rapidly to an agreement" with the Fund. As for President Eduardo Duhalde, he slavishly promised that "by the first week of June," he will have done everything the IMF demanded, as conditionalities for an agreement. Hours before Duhalde departed for Madrid on May 16, the Argentine Congress finally approved the IMF-dictated changes to the bankruptcy law. He waved this "triumph" around in Madrid, as evidence of his government's "seriousness."

The "Madrid Commitment," signed during the first day of the summit, states that the group views with "satisfaction" everything Argentina has done to comply with the IMF.

Otherwise, ignoring the reality that free trade is dead, the summit mostly consisted of foolish blather about trade agreements and integration, that will never materialize. Only the Chilean government could boast of concluding a free-trade agreement with the EU, which is relatively meaningless. European leaders insisted there must be continued progress in Ibero-America toward "economic reforms," and "democracy"—Aznar warned "there must be no return to the outdated recipes of the past."

Duhalde Demands Argentine Cabinet, Congress Lick IMF Boots

Upon his return from his European tour May 23, Argentine President Eduardo Duhald informed his cabinet and the Congress that they were "moving too slowly" and not doing what the IMF wanted. Of the three conditionalities the Fund demands, only one has been met—the amendment to the bankruptcy law. Not all provinces have signed bilateral austerity agreements with the government, and the economic subversion law remains unmodified. He reportedly banged his fist on the table at a cabinet meeting and bellowed, "This isn't a game.... either we all move forward together, or start looking for someone else." He warned that "what comes later will be much worse than this. We're going to have to take unpleasant measures. If you're not willing to back me up," forget it.

The Wall Street vultures were pleased with Duhalde's ultimatum. "A little brinksmanship might be good right now to get things moving," said one fund manager gleefully. But attempts to ram through these measures will guarantee further social upheaval, and outright murder of the increasingly impoverished population. Duhalde is nonetheless said to be prepared to go ahead with this political suicide, reportedly confident that he'll get support, because there is no one standing in the wings to replace him.

A special session of Congress was called on May 23 to overturn the economic subversion law—as the IMF demanded, since many of their banker-friends have been arrested under its provisions. If that passes, the last remaining obstacle will be the provincial governors, who have resisted the IMF's budget-cutting demands. Thus far, Buenos Aires province has refused to sign the agreement. Gov. Felipe Sola says he won't agree to anything, unless the Federal government guarantees to provide the province the funds it needs—it is the most indebted of all Argentine provinces—especially to cover the cost of social programs.

Argentina Faces a Health-Care Holocaust, Thanks to IMF

Disease and malnutrition are increasing dramatically in Argentina, thanks to IMF austerity. As a result of growing poverty and hunger, tuberculosis is on the rise. Former Health Minister Aldo Neri warns that "increasingly efficient medical tools are meaningless in the face of ever-increasing poverty and misery." A study done by the government of Buenos Aires province for the year 2000, the last year for which statistics are available, showed a "notable increase" in TB among youth, and people 65 or older, beginning particularly in the middle of the 1990s—the heyday of free-market lunacy. Of the 11,767 new cases reported in 2000, 45.2% of them were in the province of Buenos Aires.

A recent report on malnutrition published by Pagina 12 has shaken the country. The daily reported on 1,320 confirmed cases of malnutrition among children, in the southern part of Tucuman province alone. Provincial Health Ministry official Dr. Sergio Vargas described the situation as a "social debacle," aggravated by lack of funding from the provincial government, and little help from the Federal government. Of 15,000 kilos of milk needed monthly, he said the province receives only 3,000 kilos from the Federal government.

The government's slavish obedience to the IMF will exacerbate this situation. The government statistical agency, INDEC, just reported that the price of the monthly market basket of essential food items increased by 42.4% in the first quarter of this year, and so far in May, has risen another 3.7%!

Uruguay Shaken by Anti-Austerity Protests as Blackouts Imposed

New taxes imposed by President Jorge Batlle, which will raise the cost of potable water and public transportation, and take a bigger bite out of wages and pensions, have been completely rejected by a majority of the population. On the evening of May 19, a ten-minute long "cacerolazo" (pots and pans demonstration) occurred simultaneously in the capital of Montevideo, and other parts of the country, accompanied by an electricity blackout. Uruguay is in a desperate situation, affected by the Argentine crisis in particular—it is an offshore banking haven for Argentine deposits—but also reeling from the global financial meltdown. Its debt has been downgraded by S&P and Moody's, and last week, its "country risk" rate reached 11.5%, unprecedented for this small country. The protest called by the Inter-Union Workers' Plenary PIT-CNT, is one of several planned to denounce ten new measures, that include a 20% tax on wages and pensions. This is the second such "adjustment" made this year by free-marketeer Batlle.

The End of NAFTA? Mexico Now a 'Model' of Free-Trade Collapse

Mexico's exports fell by 5%, and its imports, 4%, in 2001 over 2000, a more severe decline than that experienced by other Ibero-American countries. This is partially explained by the fact that Mexico's trade grew more rapidly than the rest of the region over the last ten years, and so, it is falling that much faster than the others as the world economy implodes. And when the crisis hit, it hit hard: Mexico's trade still grew in 2000, by 12%; even in the first half of 2001, it grew by 6%. Then the collapse hit: down 5.6% by the end of 2001, and down 6.7% in first quarter of 2002.

Given that Mexico's economy, under NAFTA, was distorted to channel all resources into export-related activity, the effect is devastating. Industrial production as a whole has fallen by 27% from its high point, in August 2000. In the first quarter of 2002, industrial production fell by 7.6%., on top of the 4.7% contraction in the 4th quarter of 2001. The fall in overall industrial production in March 2002 (7.6% less than the same month a year before) was the greatest fall since October 1995—remember that 1995 was for Mexico, what 2001 was for Argentina—and the 14th month in a row of contraction, the longest period of consecutive decline since 1982 in Mexico.

The level of collapse of maquiladora production—which exists solely as an appendage of the NAFTA free-trade system—is astounding: a 19.1% decrease in the first quarter of 2002, after 19.6% in the 4th quarter of 2001. March 2002 figures were 20.4% under that of the year before.

First came the reduction in the purchase orders for the maquiladoras. Then, the cancellation of those orders. Now, the maquiladoras themselves are shutting down: whereas there were 3,700 maquiladoras registered in the country at the close of 2000, at the end of 2001, there were 3,540. At the end of April: 3,316. Employment in the sector fell by 17% between 2000 and 2001: from 1.3 million to 1.08 million.

In a state of profound delusiton, maquiladora "industry" analysts are discussing two strategies to counter their demise: Some say that the "high cost of Mexican labor and services" must be cut, so as to compete with Chinese or Central American labor. And others, say that Mexico must concentrate on producing "high-tech" maquila products geared to the U.S. defense build-up.

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