The Congressman of Democratic Party Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented an amendment to the National Defense Budget Law of the United States so that no fund established for fiscal year 2026 is destined for the Armed Forces and the National Police of Peru until this country meets a series of requirements linked to the Freedom of press and human rights.
The National Defense Budget Law is a Federal Law of the United States through which the Armed Forces are financed and the policies and budget of the Department of Defense are defined, allowing the US army to operate around the world. Congress must approve the law every year. For fiscal year 2025, it is indicated that the North American country reported approximately 50.3 million dollars in security assistance addressed to Peru.
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On 2023 and 2024, the Casio-Cortez legislator presented amendments for this rule, however, they were not approved. This year, it has also presented an amendment that includes six conditions. The first requirement is that Peru guarantees that the members of the forces of the order who have committed violations against human rights will be sanctioned at the criminal level. While it does not mention it, this subsection makes clear reference to the Amnesty Lawpromulgated by the Executive on August 13, which grants impunity to members of the Armed Forces, the National Police and self -defense committees for crimes committed during the internal armed conflict (1980–2000).
Related to this, the conclusion of an exhaustive investigation on deaths in the late 2022 and the judicial process of those who have been found guilty is also required.
In the same way, the congresswoman asks that a complete and independent review be carried out with public results, regarding the PNP and FF.AA practices, as well as their responsibility for not having prevented excessive violence, the abuse of the detainees and the stigmatization of the protesters.
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To these requirements are added two others linked to respect for freedom of expression. The first of them puts as a condition that the government has been shown to ensure the rights of the media and organizations of Human Rights, including that attacks on journalists or threats are no longer registered. The second asks for the cessation of the criminalization of peaceful protesters and respect for cultural diversity.
Finally, the sixth requirement is that the Executive Power and the Congress of Peru “do not hinder justice in cases of corruption pending against its members.”
This includes the transfer of articles and defense services, supply of riot control or any other source that involves coordination of exercises with the Army or the Peru.
IMPACT OF THE ONLY
Francesca Emanuele, Senior International Analyst of the Center for Research in Economics and Politics (CEPR) in Washington DC, explained in dialogue with the Republic that “although this amendment does not come to vote in the plenary of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, its introduction gives an account that there are prominent leaders of the Democratic Party, as Occortz, which are kept. Human rights violations in the country, to the recent laws of impunity promoted and approved by the Peruvian Congress and Executive, and the need for Peru’s security forces to accounts. “
He also explained that this amendment is related to the so -called Leahy law, approved in 1997 in the United States and bears the name of Senator Patrick Leahy. “This law prohibits the State Department and the US Department of Defense. Uu. Provide assistance to foreign security forces units that are known have committed serious human rights violations, unless governments take effective measures to take those responsible before justice. In practice, it works as a conditionality mechanism: if a battalion, police or military unit of another country commits abuse and there is no accountability excluded from receiving training, financing or US team. “The specialist said.
In that sense, “a report, as this amendment requests, to verify that the FF.AA and the Police have committed violations of the Human rights with impunity, would give rise to apply the LEAHY law in Peru and the assistance is suspended in security to those units that have committed these violations unpunished.” This law has already been approved in previous years in countries such as Guatemala and Honduras.
