LIMA, April 22 (NNN-ANDINA) — The Air Interception Agreement between Peru and the United States, recently approved by the Congress of the Republic, reaffirms the solid commitment between both countries to confront the fight against illicit drug trafficking jointly, Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea said.
He said that this agreement reestablishes cooperation with the United States after several years.
He said that it will allow for relevant information, financing, radar data, support with command, control, and communications, equipment, maintenance, and operational assistance from the United States in order to strengthen the actions of the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
Thus, Gonzalez-Olaechea explained, FAP’s operational capacity can be improved, as well as the coverage and control of the national territory by the Armed Forces.
He said that the aim is to restore the capacities that were available before 2001, which allowed Peru to considerably reduce the number of hectares of coca leaves from 115,000 hectares in 1995 to around 34,000 hectares in 2000.
Moreover, he underscored that the agreement demonstrates the strong bilateral relationship between both countries and positions Peru as a reliable partner for the United States at the regional level in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
“The strengthening of the U.S. cooperation is necessary to confront, in general, the different security threats that seek to destabilize democratic governance in Peru and in the region as a whole,” Minister Gonzalez-Olaechea remarked.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the approval of the Air Interception Agreement is a first step within a broader strategy to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the United States in the fight against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, which put Peru’s democracy and governance at risk. — NNN-ANDINA
