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RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7602
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C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PE
SUBJECT: HUGO CHAVEZ, OLLANTA HUMALA AND THE TUNA CAN 
CONTROVERSY 
 
REF: LIMA 02957 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor ...

id: 123940
date: 9/28/2007 12:09
refid: 07LIMA3271
origin: Embassy Lima
classification: CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
destination: 07LIMA2957
header:
VZCZCXYZ0013
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #3271/01 2711209
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6984
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 1811
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5120
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7602
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 3105
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0812
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ SEP 4537
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 9316
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 1478
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 1510
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL PRIORITY


----------------- header ends ----------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PE
SUBJECT: HUGO CHAVEZ, OLLANTA HUMALA AND THE TUNA CAN 
CONTROVERSY 
 
REF: LIMA 02957 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Alexis Ludwig for reasons 1.4(d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Following press reports that tuna cans 
labeled with pictures of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and 
nationalist leader (PNP) Ollanta Humala were being 
distributed in towns devastated by the August 15 earthquake, 
the public response was severe: Chavez and Humala were 
seeking to profit from tragedy (Ref).  The cans then vanished 
from public view, and speculation grew that they must have 
been media fabrications or that Humala's supporters had 
scrambled to destroy the evidence.  Recently, however, a 
close contact in Congress gave two sample cans to poloff and 
claimed they were a hoax instigated by Ollanta's jailed 
brother Antauro Humala designed to smear Ollanta's name. 
Whatever the case, the tuna can controversy highlights 
continuing intrigue amid Peru's political opposition.  End 
Summary. 
 
ALBA-core Tuna 
-------------- 
¶2. (SBU) A week after the August 15 earthquake in southern 
Peru, the conservative tabloid El Expreso reported that 
Ollanta Humala supporters in the outskirts of Pisco and Ica 
had delivered thousands of tuna cans labeled with photos of 
Humala and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.  A media 
firestorm ensued, criticizing the cans as a gross attempt to 
profit politically from a humanitarian tragedy.  After the El 
Expreso report, photos of the cans appeared in a handful of 
media reports, but otherwise they vanished. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The vanishing cans led to speculation that they 
never actually existed, except perhaps in doctored photos, or 
that Humala's Nationalist Party supporters had quickly 
destroyed all evidence.  El Expreso later reported that tuna 
cans with the labels removed had appeared near Pisco as 
Humalistas scrambled to contain the public relations damage. 
Some GOP contacts reported hearing that Humala supporters had 
shred all leftover labels.  Both Humala and Chavez government 
officials sought to distance themselves from the scandal with 
denials and counter-accusations that either the US or 
Peruvian government was involved. 
 
The Cans Re-Discovered 
---------------------- 
¶4. (C) Recently, however, a close Embassy contact gave Poloff 
two sample tuna cans, proving, at the very least, that they 
exist.  The can labels, identical to those published in the 
media, read: "In the Face of Looting, Roadblocks, 
Desperation, and Chaos; Solidarity with our Compatriots", and 
combine criticism of the government's response to the 
earthquake with praise for Humala and Chavez.  The Embassy's 
tuna can source is independent Congressman Gustavo Espinoza, 
who was elected in 2006 under the PNP banner but then 
immediately broke his ties with Ollanta.  Espinoza, a vocal 
critic of Ollanta's links to Venezuela, has since become a 
political operator for Ollanta's jailed brother and political 
rival Antauro Humala, even sponsoring legislation that sought 
to grant him amnesty. 
 
An Humala Family Feud? 
---------------------- 
¶5. (C) Espinoza told us Antauro had produced the tuna cans in 
an effort to smear Ollanta's name.  The two brothers have 
feuded publicly since Ollanta sought to distance himself from 
the more radical Antauro during the presidential campaign. 
In late 2006, Antauro publicly called Ollanta a "damned 
traitor" ("traidor de mierda").  One Antauro supporter told 
us that Antauro's 2005 armed rebellion against the central 
government had helped create Ollanta, "and now we will 
destroy him."  A PNP Congressman publicly echoed the family 
feud theory, blaming the cans on "a congressman that used to 
belong to (Ollanta's) party and is now looking to discredit 
us." 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
¶6. (C) Amidst the volley of accusations and 
counteraccusations, the discovery of the infamous tuna cans 
 
raises as many questions as it appears to answer.  While it 
is possible that the cans reflect an imperfectly considered 
propoganda campaign on the part of Chavez and his friends in 
Peru, this would suggest a gang that can't shoot straight. 
The Antauro Humala "opposition within the opposition" theory, 
alternatively, would mean that a struggle for the outsider 
mantle, invaluable in Peru's political arena, is already 
underway.  Whatever the case, the tuna can controversy 
highlights the intrigue or infighting in Peru's active 
anti-systemic camp.  End Comment. 
MCKINLEY 

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