Peru–United States relations

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Peruvian–American relations
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Peru
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United States
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Peru, Washington, D.C. Embassy of the United States, Lima
Envoy
Peruvian Ambassador to the United States Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velásquez American Ambassador to Peru Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath

The Republic of Peru and United States of America (USA) established relations following Peru's independence from Spain in 1826. In the twenty-first century the two countries have become close partners, collaborating in trade with a free trade agreement and in limiting the trafficking of narcotics into the United States.

Contents

Both countries are part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, as well as the Organization of American States.

History

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) meets with Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra (right) in Lima, April 2019 Secretary Pompeo Meets With Peruvian President Vizcarra (46687009985).jpg
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) meets with Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra (right) in Lima, April 2019

Nineteenth century

Twentieth century

Through the Cold War, the United States focused its foreign policy of promoting anti-communism in Peru instead of assisting with democratic efforts. [1]

During the administration of Ronald Reagan, Peru felt ignored by the U.S. government. [1] When President Fernando Belaunde Terry visited President Reagan in Washington in 1983, Reagan met with the Peruvian president for only thirty minutes, with one of Reagan's aides saying "[President Belaunde] wasn't even offered a cup of tea". [1]

Relations reached their lowest point during the United States invasion of Panama of 1989 when Peru recalled its ambassador in protest of American military actions. [2] [3] However, relations were restored[ when? ] and have recovered and vastly expanded in the decades since.

The United States strongly supported the presidency of Alberto Fujimori under Plan Verde, of which Fujimori mainly served as a figurehead for Vladimiro Montesinos, a Peruvian intelligence official with deep links to the Central Intelligence Agency. The United States also supported Fujimori through his seizure of power and an internal insurgency. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Twenty-first century

Though the American government had originally expressed strong support for his government, relations were strained following the tainted reelection of former President Alberto Fujimori in June 2000.

After the abrupt ending to Fujimori's third term and the installation of an interim government in November 2000, relations improved. Relations remained positive during the administration of Alejandro Toledo who took office in July 2001, and during that of Alan García.

In 2002, nine people died when a car bomb detonated by suspected rebels in the Peruvian capital just days before a visit from American President George W. Bush.

During its time as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007, [9] Peru—despite having refrained from openly participating in George Bush's "War on terror" itself—alongside the U.S. and the West, repeatedly voted in favor of extending the authorization mandate of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, [10] [11] and increasing sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program. [12] [13]

The U.S. and Peruvian governments criticized North Korea's 2006 nuclear test. Peru urged North Korea to unconditionally return to the six-party talks and to suspend all activity related to its nuclear program.

In 2007, Peruvian Foreign Minister José Antonio García Belaúnde said that his country opposed America's occupation of Iraq, and called for the immediate withdrawal of US military forces from the country, noting that the Iraqi situation was very complex and that the invasion had been a mistake.

In 2008, Peru joined the U.S. and its allies in recognizing Kosovo, [14] and ultimately refused to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, [15] yet opposed the U.S. and Israel by recognizing Palestine in 2011, claiming "no pressure from any side". [16]

In reaction to the Libyan Civil War, Peru became the first country to cut ties with Libya "until the violence against the people ceases" as a result of the aerial bombing of Tripoli.

Upon the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, Garcia credited the death of bin Laden to late and recently beatified Pope John Paul II, saying, "His first miracle was to remove from the world the incarnation of evil, the demonic incarnation of crime and hatred..." He also said that bin Laden's death "vindicates George W. Bush's decision to punish Bin Laden and patiently continue this work that has borne fruit". [17]

In 2012, the Cuzco Consulate assisted a group of American backpackers who were attacked by Peruvian villagers who suspected the group were "cattle rustlers". [18]

Peru's Deputy Foreign Minister José Beraún Araníbar condemned "the excesses committed by the government of Syria" in a 2012 interview, stressing that Peru saw a political dialogue as the only viable means of peace enforcement and supported a joint UN/Arab League initiative to this effect, indicating Peru would not likely support a U.S. intervention. [19]

In June 2013, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala visited the White House and together with U.S. President Barack Obama promised to strengthen ties between both nations, including in the fight against narcotics trafficking and in tightening economic ties. [20]

The US government condemned Pedro Castillo's attempted self-coup in December 2022 and welcomed the appointment of Dina Boluarte as president. [21] [22] Castillo eventually alleged that the United States aided his removal. [23] [24] [25] The US also initially supported Boluarte amidst civil unrest against her government and allegations of authoritarianism. [26] Relations have deteriorated under the government of her after the U.S condemned Peru for human rights violations. [27] 15 Democratic members of Congress also condemned the Peruvian government, expressing concern over the 'authoritarian' practices Congress of the Republic. [28] Relations were further complicated after President Joe Biden was widely criticized for describing Boluarte's government as democratic, while democratic backsliding has reportedly hit an all time high in Peru. [29] [30] [31]

In November 2024, President Joe Biden traveled to Peru to attend the APEC Summit held in Lima. [32]

Resident diplomatic missions

Trade and economy

U.S. investment and tourism in Peru have grown substantially in recent years. The U.S. is Peru's number one trade partner, and economic and commercial ties will deepen if the U.S.–Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) is passed by the U.S. Congress. About 200,000 U.S. citizens visit Peru annually for business, tourism, and study. About 16,000 Americans reside in Peru, and more than 400 U.S. companies are represented in the country.

Strategic partnerships

Peruvian MiG-29 and Mirage 2000 flying beside aircraft of the United States Navy Aircraft of US Navy Carrier Air Wing 2 and the Air Force of Peru in Flight in October 2015.JPG
Peruvian MiG-29 and Mirage 2000 flying beside aircraft of the United States Navy
The USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) (foreground) and BAP Pisco (AMP-156) (background) conduct a joint training exercise in the eastern Pacific in 2021 USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) and the Peruvian navy landing platform dock ship BAP Pisco (AMP-156) conduct tactical maneuvers in the eastern Pacific Ocean during UNITAS LXII. (51535611938).jpg
The USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) (foreground) and BAP Pisco (AMP-156) (background) conduct a joint training exercise in the eastern Pacific in 2021

Illicit substances

The United States and Peru cooperate on efforts to interdict the flow of narcotics, particularly cocaine, to the United States. Bilateral programs are now in effect to reduce the flow of drugs through Peru's port systems and to perform ground interdiction in tandem with successful law enforcement operations. These U.S. Government-supported law enforcement efforts are complemented by an aggressive effort to establish an alternative development program for coca farmers in key coca growing areas to voluntarily reduce and eliminate coca cultivation. This effort is funded by the Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Military

Peru remains part of SICOFAA (whose creation was proposed by the Peruvian Air Force in 1964) and the Rio Pact, requiring it and the U.S. to assist each other in case of attack, and continues to be a regular participant in RIMPAC, an international maritime military exercise led by the U.S. to promote stability throughout the Pacific in the event of potential conflicts ranging from China invading Taiwan or North Korean aggression against its neighbors.

See also

Related Research Articles

The politics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Peru a "hybrid regime" in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Peru</span>

The economy of Peru is an emerging, mixed economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade and an upper middle income economy as classified by the World Bank. Peru has the forty-seventh largest economy in the world by total GDP and currently experiences a high human development index. The country was one of the world's fastest-growing economies in 2012, with a GDP growth rate of 6.3%. The economy was expected to increase 9.3% in 2021, in a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Peru has signed a number of free trade agreements with its main trade partners. China became the nation's largest trading partner following the China–Peru Free Trade Agreement signed on 28 April 2009. Additional free trade agreements have been signed with the United States in 2006, Japan in 2011 and the European Union in 2012. Trade and industry are centralized in Lima while agricultural exports have led to regional development within the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peruvian Armed Forces</span> Combined military services of Peru

The Peruvian Armed Forces are the military services of Peru, comprising independent Army, Navy and Air Force components. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any threat. As a secondary mission they participate in economic and social development as well as in civil defence tasks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Fujimori</span> President of Peru from 1990 to 2000

Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. Of Japanese descent, Fujimori was an agronomist and university rector before entering politics. Generally recognized as a civilian-military dictatorship, his government was characterized by its use of propaganda, widespread political corruption, and human rights violations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimiro Montesinos</span> Former Head of Peruvian Intelligence Service

Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres is a Peruvian former intelligence officer and lawyer, most notorious for his role as the head of Peru's National Intelligence Service (SIN) during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori. Montesinos was widely regarded as the power behind the throne, often regarded as the true authority in the government, supported by the Peruvian Armed Forces.

The 1992 Peruvian self-coup, sometimes known as the Fujimorazo, was performed in Peru in 1992 after President Alberto Fujimori dissolved the Congress as well as the judiciary and assumed full legislative and judicial powers. With the collaboration of the military, the Fujimori government subsequently began to implement objectives of the Green Plan following the coup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Afghanistan and the United States began in 1921 under the leaderships of King Amanullah Khan and President Warren G. Harding, respectively. The first contact between the two nations occurred further back in the 1830s when the first recorded person from the United States explored Afghanistan. The United States government foreign aid program provided about $500 million in aid for economic development; the aid ended before the 1978 Saur Revolution. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a turning point in the Cold War, when the United States started to financially support the Afghan resistance. The country, under both the Carter and Reagan administrations committed $3 billion dollars in financial and diplomatic support and along with Pakistan also rendering critical support to the anti-Soviet Mujahideen forces. Beginning in 1980, the United States began admitting thousands of Afghan refugees for resettlement, and provided money and weapons to the Mujahideen through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The USSR withdrew its troops in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Pakistan and the United States established relations on 15 August 1947, a day after the independence of Pakistan, when the United States became one of the first nations to recognize the country.

The National Intelligence Service was an intelligence agency of the Government of Peru that existed from 1960 to 2001. It was headquartered at the Quiñones Building, the headquarters of the country's Defence Ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guatemala–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

There is a U.S. Embassy in Guatemala located in Guatemala City. According to the United States Department of State, relations between the United States and Guatemala have traditionally been close, although sometimes they are tense regarding human, civil, and military rights.

The following activities were or are supposed to have been carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–Peru relations</span> Bilateral relations

The nations of Mexico and Peru established diplomatic relations in 1823. Diplomatic relations were briefly cut in 1932 and reinstated again in 1933. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Lima Group, Organization of Ibero-American States, Organization of American States, Pacific Alliance and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath</span> American diplomat

Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States ambassador to Peru since June 20, 2024. She most recently served as deputy chief of mission to Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peruvian political crisis (2016–present)</span>

Since 2016, Peru has been plagued with political instability and a growing crisis, initially between the President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Congress, led de facto by Keiko Fujimori. The crisis emerged in late 2016 and early 2017 as the polarization of Peruvian politics increased, as well as a growing schism between the executive and legislative branches of government. Fujimori and her Fujimorist supporters would use their control of Congress to obstruct the executive branch of successive governments, resulting with a period of political instability in Peru.

Juan Carlos Hurtado Miller is a Peruvian former engineer and Fujimorist politician who served in the cabinet during the presidency of Fernando Belaúnde Terry and Alberto Fujimori in which, he served as Fujimori's first Prime Minister of Peru from 1990 to 1991 and was the Minister of Agriculture during the presidency of Fernando Belaúnde Terry between 1983 and 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan Verde</span> Peruvian clandestine military operation

Plan Verde was a clandestine military operation developed by the armed forces of Peru during the internal conflict in Peru; it involved the control or censorship of media in the nation and the establishment of a neoliberal economy controlled by a military junta in Peru. Initially drafted in October 1989 in preparation for a coup d'état to overthrow President Alan García, the plan was substantively implemented after the victory of political outsider Alberto Fujimori in the 1990 Peruvian general election, and subsequent 1992 Peruvian self-coup d'état. Plan Verde was first leaked to the public by Peruvian magazine Oiga, shortly after the coup, with a small number of other media outlets also reporting access to the plan's documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt</span> Attempt by President Pedro Castillo to dissolve the Congress of Peru

On 7 December 2022, Pedro Castillo, the then-President of Peru, made an attempt to dissolve the Congress amidst looming removal proceedings. This move included the immediate imposition of a curfew, an attempt to establish an emergency government, and a call for the formation of a constituent assembly. Prior to this, Attorney General Patricia Benavides had accused Castillo of leading a criminal organization, a claim that contravened Article 117 of the Constitution of Peru. She had urged the Congress to remove him from office, leading to the third removal attempt against Castillo. Castillo defended his actions by arguing that the Congress, which had obstructed many of his policies, was serving oligopolistic businesses and had colluded with the Constitutional Court to undermine the executive branch, thereby creating a "congressional dictatorship". He also advocated for the immediate election of a constituent assembly, a demand that had been echoed since the 2020 Peruvian protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peruvian protests (2022–2023)</span> Protests against the impeachment of President Pedro Castillo

Following the ousting of president of Peru, Pedro Castillo on 7 December 2022, a series of political protests against the government of president Dina Boluarte and the Congress of Peru occurred. The demonstrations lack centralized leadership and originated primarily among grassroots movements and social organizations on the left to far-left, as well as indigenous communities, who feel politically disenfranchised. Castillo was removed from office and arrested after announcing the illegal dissolution of Congress, the intervention of the state apparatus, and the forced establishment of an "emergency government", which was characterized as a self-coup attempt by all government institutions, all professional institutions, and mainstream media in Peru while Castillo's supporters said that Congress attempted to overthrow Castillo. Castillo's successor Dina Boluarte, along with Congress, were widely disapproved, with the two receiving the lowest approval ratings among public offices in the Americas. Among the main demands of the demonstrators are the dissolution of Congress, the resignation of Boluarte, new general elections, the release of Castillo, and the formation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. It has also been reported that some of the protesters have declared an insurgency in Punos's region. Analysts, businesses, and voters said that immediate elections are necessary to prevent future unrest, although many establishment political parties have little public support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Gervasi</span> Peruvian diplomat (1966–2024)

Ana Cecilia Gervasi Diaz was a Peruvian diplomat who was the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs between 10 December 2022 and 6 November 2023. Prior to this post, Gervasi served in diplomatic posts in Canada and the United States and at the United Nations at Geneva and the World Trade Organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservatism in Peru</span> Overview of conservatism in Peru

Conservatism in Peru is a broad system of conservative political beliefs in Peru, characterized by support for Catholic values, social stability and social order. Peruvian conservatism has encompassed a wide range of theories and ideologies in the last two hundred years. In contrast with nearly nations like Colombia or Chile, Peru has not developed a concrete conservative political tradition.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

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  13. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747
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Further reading