Ecobreves – PERU: Factory under Fire

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

LIMA, Apr 15 2001 (IPS) - A Chilean pasta factory, built in a protected natural area in Peru, has been added to the list of cases under investigation by a parliamentary commission here that is attempting to untangle the web of corruption created by Vladimiro Montesinos, the fugitive former intelligence chief who served the deposed president Alberto Fujimori. In April, two Chilean lawmakers visited the Luchetti factory, built illegally in the Marshes de Villa protected area. The Lima Metropolitan Council has filed a lawsuit for its removal.

Luchetti won a ruling in 1998 from the Peruvian courts, but according to a videotape that shows a meeting between Montesinos and a Chilean businessman, the judicial ruling was obtained through irregular means.

The visit of the two Chilean legislators was a response to the request from Luchetti's Chilean owners who claim they have suffered discriminatory treatment in Peru.