Latin America

Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs José Antonio García Belaúnde admitted on Tuesday that there is a lot of suspicion and fear in his country with regard to the Venezuelan medical cooperation, after Caracas announced the withdrawal of its humanitarian "Operación Milagro" program.

"I think that there is a lot of suspicion and fear about the implications of Venezuelan cooperation in Peru," the Foreign Minister told radio station Radio Programas del Perú (RPP).

Last weekend, Venezuelan Ambassador to Peru Armado Laguna told Lima's newspaper La Primera that Caracas put an end to the "Operación Milagro" plan, a regional program to perform free eye surgeries.

The Venezuelan diplomat explained that the decision was taken due to the fact that Peru did not authorize last July the entry of an aircraft that was supposed to carry one hundred patients to Venezuela to undergo eye surgeries.