US embassy cable - 05LIMA1606

UNCLAS LIMA 001606 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, MARR, PE 
SUBJECT: PERUVIAN ARMY OFFICER TAKES HIS TROUBLES TO CITY 
HALL 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly 
 
1. (U) A Peruvian Army Officer on 4/6 chose an unusual method 
to bring attention to a dispute with his superiors. 
Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Soto Sarmiento arrived at the 
Mayor's Office in the regional capital of Moquegua with 35 of 
his troops to denounce alleged mistreatment he had been 
submitted to by his commanding officers in the local Third 
Army Brigade.  Soto made it clear to Mayor Julian Flores he 
was not involved in an insurrection, and had come to the 
municipal office to seek refuge and protect his rights.  A 
few minutes after Soto's arrival, Third Brigade Commander 
General Carlos La Rosa appeared on the scene and ordered the 
35 members of Soto's battalion to return to their barracks. 
Soto himself refused to depart, telling reporters he had been 
unfairly subjected to an administrative investigation without 
the right of self-defense, and that he would not leave until 
he was able to contact Defense Ministry representatives in 
Lima. 
 
2. (SBU) A DAO member on TDY in Tacna (100 kilometers from 
Moquegua) discussed the matter with local counterparts. 
Military sources said that Soto had been under investigation 
for about a month on charges that he had improperly handled 
soldiers' food rations and officers' pay.  Soto, currently a 
law student, made a counter-claim that his superiors were 
guilty of abuse of authority, and had subjected him to 
physical and verbal abuse.  Soto was about to be relieved of 
duty when he made his quixotic march to the Mayor's Office. 
The sources said that prior to returning to base with his 
troops, General La Rosa met with Mayor Flores to discuss the 
incident. 
 
3. (SBU) Foreign Ministry Director General for Defense and 
Security Affairs Daul Matute told Polcouns later in the day 
that Defense Minister Roberto Chiabra had ordered that Soto 
be sent to Lima, and that the officer was already in transit. 
STRUBLE