Top Peru General Denies Drug Ties, Seeks Lawsuit

A leaked U.S. diplomatic message reporting speculation that the new head of Peru's military was involved in drug corruption has shaken the nation's armed forces, with the general angrily denying any drug ties on Monday and saying he may take legal action against the former U.S. ambassador.

The March 2009 document from then-Ambassador Michael McKinley noted that a source, whose name was omitted in the released document, "saw signs that officers may have continued to cooperate with drug traffickers." It was released Sunday by WikiLeaks.

The document cited a 2007 meeting between Gen. Paul da Silva and a regional fishing industry leader, Rolando Eugenio Velasco Heysen, and said the source suggested they were coordinating drug shipments. Velasco was arrested in October 2007 on charges of drying to export 840 kilograms of cocaine hidden in frozen fish and remains imprisoned facing trial.

Da Silva, then chief of the Piura military region, was named head of Peru's army this month.

Da Silva held a news conference at army headquarters on Monday to deny the suggestion, saying that while he did meet with Velasco, they talked about the fishing industry executive's offer to supply the military with seafood.

Da Silva called the document "infamous" and said he reserves the right to bring a criminal complaint against the U.S. ambassador "for his irresponsibility," though the document did not say if the allegation was true. McKinley is now U.S. ambassador to Colombia.

Regional news reports from the time indicate that Velasco had been publicly campaigning to have the military use the region's seafood, though the diplomatic memorandum notes that the meeting occurred at a moment when the military's period for contracts had passed for that year.

Defense Minister Jaime Thorne told reporters that he backs the general. U.S. Embassy spokesman Guido Chininos said the mission makes no comments on any documents released by WikiLeaks.

The document said that few believe corruption "is anywhere near as deep or extensive as during the shadowy (1990-2000) rein of former President (Alberto) Fujimori's intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos," but said some still appeared to persist.