"Aduviri claims to be victim of political vendetta", 17 August 2019

…Puno Governor Walter Aduviri, well known for his participation in the protests against the Santa Ana mine in southern Puno in 2011, was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 2 million soles in civil reparations to the Peruvian state, having been found guilty of inciting public disturbances…Also known as the ‘Aymarazo’, the 2011 protests were against the proposed Santa Ana mine, a concession awarded to the Canadian mining company Bear Creek. Following the protests, the then García government withdrew the concession…Earlier this month, the judiciary ordered that Aduviri be placed in preventive detention, arguing that he had failed to comply with the rulings established by the court. Aduviri has since gone into hiding. However, in an interview with the newspaper La República, he broke his silence on 16 August blaming what he referred to as a criminal group known as the ‘Cuellos Blancos’ of being behind the judicial sentence; he claimed that it was no more than a political vendetta. Aduviri maintains that this criminal group, involving judges and public prosecutors, has close ties with Confiep (Confederación Nacional de Instituciones Empresariales Privadas), the private business confederation, which he says has been plotting against him for several years…