By Ángel Páez
LIMA, Jun 18 2008 (IPS)

Army troops from Peru and the United States are fighting very different enemies in extremely different geographical areas. But now they are eating the same rations, purchased from the U.S.-based International Meal Supply company.

The purchase of imported rations for Peruvian troops in violation of a national law stipulating that local suppliers and products must be given priority in public tenders has triggered suspicions of corruption, since the imported Meals Ready to Eat or MREs are more costly than locally available rations.

The 5,000 troops deployed in the Apurimac and Ene river valleys, a southeastern jungle area known by the acronym VRAE, where large quantities of coca and cocaine are produced and where a remnant faction of the Maoist Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrillas remains active, are fed the same rations eaten by U.S. troops in Iraq.

The decision to import the MREs was reached by Peruvian army commander General Edwin Donayre, because his men “should eat the best rations available in the world,” IPS was told by a source in his office.

But the MREs prepared by International Meal Supply, based in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida, are much more expensive than those available on the local market.

Each imported ration will cost 3.27 dollars more than a locally prepared meal. The first purchase was for 50,000 rations, for which the state shelled out an extra 163,500 dollars.

By contrast, the Peruvian navy, which has sent two special operations forces platoons to the VRAE to combat Sendero Luminoso, held a public tender, as required by law, and bought Peruvian field rations based on popular, widely consumed products at local market price.

Consulted by IPS, a source with the Servicio de Intendencia del Ejército (SINTE), the army procurement office, argued that suitable suppliers are not available in Peru and that the price of the International Meal Supply’s MREs is reasonable, because “it is a product that no one in Peru makes.”

But a navy source told IPS that they were “completely satisfied” with the rations purchased from a local company, and said “we have even had to turn over part of our rations to the army, because the ones they bought abroad hadn’t arrived yet.”

The army source said SINTE did not request special kinds of meals for Peru, but explained that “we chose from their menus – that is, the same thing eaten today by U.S. soldiers in Iraq.”

They chose meals like cheese tortellini with marinara sauce, beef stroganoff with egg noodles and chicken noodle stew with vegetables, along with snacks like raisins and mixed nuts – not typical Peruvian fare that the troops are used to eating.

The navy source said “around 80 percent of the soldiers (deployed in the VRAE region) come from Pucallpa,” a city in Peru’s eastern Amazon jungle region. “They come from native families, who eat jungle animals and fruits.”

Donayre had told the troops sent to the VRAE that they would be eating traditional Peruvian food like “cancha” (toasted corn nuts) and “chalona” and “charqui”, sun-dried “jerky” made from alpaca and sheep.

The navy source questioned the imported MREs “because they were specially prepared for the soldiers fighting in Iraq, where the geographical conditions differ from those of the VRAE, which is a jungle area.”

Although SINTE said the guidelines to be met by the rations were specified by the VRAE special detachment officer corps, the Defence Ministry believes SINTE modified the technical specifications so that they matched the MREs offered by International Meal Supply.

But that is not the only aspect that alerted them to the need for an investigation, the Defence Ministry source told IPS, adding that the army is required by law to hold a public tender and give priority to national products.

“What we did was to check on the Internet what companies provided field rations for U.S. troops in Iraq,” said the SINTE source. “Then we sent emails asking their prices. The one that expressed an interest was International Meal Supply. They sent us the information and we chose the menu.”

International Meal Supply did not even have a representative in Peru at the time. In the midst of the negotiations, the company designated a former Israeli army elite unit officer, Alex Yanco, who owns a private security company in Peru, as its delegate.

“The Colombian army gives the soldiers fighting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rations made of national products, specially prepared for men fighting in jungle areas. Why can’t we do the same?” said the Defence Ministry source.

General Donayre, who decided to import the MREs, has gained the trust of Peruvian President Alan García.

On the government’s initiative, Congress approved a law that extends the years of service for officers from 35 to 38. The new law benefits Donayre, although he says that only the president can decide whether or not he will continue in his post. In any case, he could be promoted to head of the joint forces command.

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