MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian Justice after three Chilean businessmen

The Peruvian Justice issued last week an international warrant for three Chilean businessmen indicted in absentia in Peru for alleged influence trafficking, revealed the Chilean office of Interpol.

Marianela Gonzalez head of Interpol in Santiago said that last Thursday her office received a notification from Peru requesting the location of three former top officials of Luchetti Pasta, Andronico Luksic, Gonzalo Menendez and

Fernando Pacheco who did not show up at a court hearing. Interpol's procedure is to locate the three people and report it to the Peruvian police.

"We informed our Peruvian colleagues that the persons can be found in Chile, so they then can now proceed to the second stage which belongs to the diplomatic field", said Chile Interpol's Director who pointed out that "for the time being there's no risk of them being arrested". "However the situation can change if the Peruvian Justice sends a formal request, through diplomatic channels requesting their extradition".

The three Chilean businessmen are charged with influence trafficking for alleged contacts with the all powerful former presidential advisor Vladimiro Montesinos currently jailed, with the purpose of reaching a favourable solution regarding a dispute between the Chilean Luchetti Pasta company and the City of Lima Council over the setting up of a factory in an area environmentally protected.

Chilean Foreign Affairs minister Ignacio Walker said he believed that "any intervention on behalf of Luchetti from the Chilean government would be harmful for the case and the three businessmen".

The defence announced it will take the case to the Inter American Human Rights Commission since the trial in Peru has ignored crucial principles such as equality before the law and lawsuit proceedings.

The incident is yet another dispute between the two neighbouring countries that have a long history of confrontations which has lately moved to the business sector where Chile has proven to have the most dynamic economy in the continent with abundant funds to invest overseas.

Although Peru welcomes foreign investment, public opinion is sometimes resentful when Chile is involved and this can on times play a nice nationalistic chord in domestic politics, particularly when general elections are less than a year away, April 2006.

Besides the leading businessman in this case, Andronico Luksic is a member of the richest family in Chile with interests in mining, finance, industry and retailing.