VZCZCXYZ0029
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #0452/01 0461621
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151621Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4000
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA IMMEDIATE 4372
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB 4039
RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA IMMEDIATE 0869
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO IMMEDIATE 1016
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE IMMEDIATE 1869

UNCLAS LIMA 000452 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR H 
DEPARTMENT FOR RM/F/DFS/FO/AA/CAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP AMGT ASEC AFIN CO BL EC SC NU PE
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR CODEL NELSON AND STAFF 
 
REF: STATE 15976 
 
 ¶1. (U) The Embassy grants country clearance for the visit 
to Peru of Senator Bill Nelson,  Mrs. Grace Nelson, Caroline 
Tess, Sherry Davich, and Capt. Gene Moran from February 21-23, 
¶2007.  Senator Nelson, Senate Armed Services Committee 
(SASC), will lead a CODEL on official business to Costa Rica, 
Nicaragua, Ecuador and Peru. 
 
Rooms within per diem ($140 plus 10% service tax) have been 
reserved at the Swissotel Lima. Address: Via Central 150 
Centro Empresarial Real, San Isidro, Tel. 511 421-4400, 
Fax: 511 421-4422, website: www.lima.swissotel.com. 
POC: Rosana Martinez, Sales Manager. 
 
When departing Lima by air, the Republic of Peru imposes an 
airport departure tax on any outbound passenger of 30.25 
USD for international flights and 6.05 USD for domestic 
flights. 
 
¶2. POINT OF CONTACT, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, ADDRESS 
 
Point of contact for the visit is Political Officer David 
Brooks, office telephone number (51)(1)618-2515, cellular 
telephone (51)(1)9-678-0355, e-mail:  brooksdc2@state.gov. 
Embassy after-hours direct line for Marine Security Guard 
is (51)(1)618-2936.  The Embassy address is Av. La 
Encalada, Cuadra 17, in the Monterrico Sur Section of 
Lima.  Control officer should be notified as soon as 
possible upon arrival in country if you are not met at the 
airport. 
 
¶3. PASSPORT/VISAS: 
 
To ensure full protection for travelers, the mission 
requires that all visitors eligible for official/diplomatic 
passports use them with appropriate visa.  Travelers should 
not use tourist passports.  In exceptional cases where 
official travelers must use tourist passports/visas, 
specific authorization must be obtained in advance. 
 
DOD personnel on personal travel must use a tourist 
passport.  If official visitors arrive via military ship, a 
passport is not required unless the individual is required 
to exit Peru via commercial or military air. 
 
¶4.  SECURITY: 
 
Country clearance is granted for travel to non-Embassy 
restricted areas only.  Visitors who plan to travel to 
Embassy restricted areas must request Post approval upon 
arrival.  The State Department has designated Peru 
as high threat for indigenous terrorism, medium threat for 
transnational terrorism and political violence, and 
critical threat for crime.  Two terrorist groups operate in 
Peru:  Sendero Luminoso (SL) and Movimiento Revolucionario 
Tupac Amaru (MRTA).  Both organizations continue to be 
potential threats and have targeted U.S. facilities in the 
past.  Due to GOP efforts, the activities of the SL and 
MRTA have been greatly reduced and are now largely confined 
to rural areas.  Overland travel outside of Lima and other 
large cities during the hours of darkness is prohibited due 
to unsafe road conditions and the threat of armed 
criminals.  Terrorist groups operate with relative impunity 
in some interior areas and are known to target vehicular 
traffic.  Crime is a serious problem in metropolitan Lima 
and popular tourist areas such as Arequipa, Cuzco, and 
Machu Picchu.  Most crimes involve petty theft, 
pickpocketing, bag slashing, grab-and-run, and theft from 
occupied and unoccupied vehicles.  More violent crimes 
include armed robbery, carjacking, and choke-and-rob. 
Criminals frequently react violently when resistance is 
encountered.  In almost all instances it is advisable not 
to offer resistance.  Most areas of downtown Lima are 
dangerous and should be avoided during the hours of 
darkness.  Visitors are cautioned to remain alert to their 
surroundings at all times, particularly when in crowded 
areas, such as on public transportation, at outdoor 
markets, and at tourist sites.  Countermeasures against 
crime also protect against terrorism.  Special care should 
be exercised at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in 
Callao.  Criminals frequent this area, especially at night, 
and are known to target foreigners both inside and outside 
the terminal. 
¶5.  ICASS TDY Policy and Action Request: 
 
Each visitor, regardless of length of stay, must 
bring/forward fiscal data to pay for direct costs of the 
visit.  Each agency, organization, or visiting delegation 
will be charged for the actual costs attributed to their 
visit.  Direct charge costs include, but are not limited 
to: American and LES staff overtime (e.g., expediter, 
accommodation exchange, representational event support), 
field travel-lodging and M&IE by Embassy employees, vehicle 
rentals, long distance telephone calls, equipment rentals, 
office supplies and all other costs that are directly 
attributable to the visit.  If your sponsoring agency is 
not signed up for ICASS services at post, please be prepared 
to sign a MOU for ICASS support services upon arrival. 
The agency should provide post with a written communication, 
generated by the traveler's headquarters that confirms 
the agency will pay ICASS charges for the TDYers, 
provides the agency ICASS billing code the TDY support 
charges should be applied to, and authorizes the traveler 
to sign the ICASS invoice generated by the TDY module. 
Where travel is urgent, the TDYers should bring this 
documentation with them to ensure there are no interruptions 
in the provision of service. 
 
¶6.  HEALTH CONCERNS: 
 
Travelers to the jungle areas of Peru should have 
up-to-date yellow fever vaccine and malaria prophylaxis for 
chloroquine-resistant strains of malaria.  Primary 
prevention against malaria and dengue fever includes 
avoiding the mosquito vectors of these diseases: using 
insect repellant, appropriate protective clothing, and bed 
netting. Hepatitis A and B vaccinations are strongly 
recommended for all persons before coming to Peru. Rabies 
is present in country, and those individuals whose work 
and/or leisure activities might expose them to wild animals 
or feral dogs should consider receiving the rabies vaccine. 
Travelers diarrhea/dysentery is quite common in Peru. 
Visitors should substitute bottled beverages for 
potentially contaminated water.  Fish, shellfish, and 
vegetables should not be eaten unless well cooked, and all 
food should be eaten while still hot.  Fruits with a peel 
are generally safe, provided they are peeled before being 
eaten. Typhoid vaccine is also recommended. Cholera is 
endemic in Peru and disease rates reach high levels from 
January to May--the same food and bottled water precautions 
apply.  Travelers planning to travel to high altitude areas 
of Peru, such as Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and Puno, should 
consult with their health care provider first, and be fully 
aware of the health dangers of high altitudes and measures 
to minimize these dangers. 
 
¶7.  MEDICAL CLEARANCES: 
 
It is important to understand that if an employee is at a 
post without a medical clearance and the embassy medical 
provider determines that the employee has a condition that 
cannot be adequately cared for at that post, the employee 
may not be granted access to the embassy medical unit. 
Moreover, an employee at post without a medical clearance 
is not/not covered under M/MED for medical evacuation. 
While M/MED cannot provide MEDEVAC coverage for TDY 
employees without full clearances, private MEDEVAC 
insurance is available at reasonable cost and the employee 
is strongly encouraged to purchase the insurance. Private 
air ambulance medevacs can cost upwards of $100,000. In 
addition, it is important for the employee to review 
private health insurance coverage. Many HMO type policies 
do not cover hospitalization costs incurred outside of the 
USA. The employee will need to have a policy type that will 
reimburse them for medical expenses overseas. 
 
 
Contractors or other long-term TDY employees who are not 
direct-hire USG employees are not covered under the 
Department of State Medical Program and so would, in 
general, fit under the guidelines above for TDY employees 
without a medical clearance. They are not covered by M/MED 
for medevac and should be covered by medevac insurance 
through their contracting company. Access of these 
employees to the embassy medical units is a post decision 
made by the Chief of Mission or his designate acting upon 
the advice of the Regional Medical Officer. Please contact 
the Embassy Health Unit for further details. 
 
Employees working TDY for less than 60 cumulative days 
annually are not required to have medical clearances and 
are not covered under the procedures above. Unfortunately 
these short-term TDY employees frequently may have 
significant health problems that may be exacerbated by 
overseas travel or work and that may require a level of 
medical care that is not available at the post where the 
TDY employees are working.  As with any international 
traveler on personal or business travel, these employees 
should consult with their personal physician regarding the 
safety or advisability of this travel. 
 
STRUBLE