CARACAS, Wednesday September 03, 2008 | Update
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.
04:43 PM. Politics. President Hugo Chávez set a date for a constitutional amendment which allows for indefinite reelection. He said that December is enough to prepare everything and the referendum could be held in January.