Tag Archives: caribbean

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Cuba Tightens Border Controls as Coronavirus Infections Grow

HAVANA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Cuba tightened border controls on Wednesday as the Caribbean island nation moved to tamp down a growing wave of coronavirus infections while keeping doors open for its economically vital tourism industry.

The country will now require both a negative PCR within 72 hours and proof of vaccination of all visitors, though authorities have said they will continue to welcome tourists and keep children in school.

Cuba had previously required only the vaccination card for most travelers.

Daily cases on Tuesday hit 967, up more than tenfold since the weeks before Christmas, when new infections hovered at fewer than 100 per day, or just 1% of their pandemic peak on Aug. 22. Deaths from the virus, however, have not increased.

Cuba detected its first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in early December and numbers have ticked up since.

At a high-level government meeting late on Tuesday, health officials said they expected cases to increase but not deaths, thanks to the country’s unusually high vaccination rate.

The poor, communist-run nation is among the world’s most vaccinated. More than 92% of its population has received at least one shot of its home-grown inoculations, and upwards of 85% with a full course, according to “Our World in Data.”

Cuba has already begun a booster campaign and said last week it hoped to cover the entire country with the additional shot by the end of January.

Health officials appealed to Cubans to recover from non-severe cases of the virus by isolating themselves in their homes, noting that schools and hotels, which were previously used to temporarily care for the sick, would not be available this time around.

On the streets of Havana, tourism workers said they were happy to see visitors return to the island but worried about the new strains.

“We are very afraid that everything will close as before,” said Denis Rosel, a doorman at a private bar in Havana.

“This is a Caribbean country where there is a lot of tourism every year and so we hope…that it can go back to the way it was,” he said.

Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Reuters TV; Editing by David Gregorio

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Omicron Milder, Evades Immunity, Panama Reacts to Surge, Astra Zenica Seeks OK, More

WHO sees more evidence that Omicron causes milder symptoms

By and
  • WHO sees some ‘decoupling’ of COVID-19 cases and deaths
  • Raising global vaccine rates will reduce Omicron’s impact
  • Calls for global coordination on vaccine development

GENEVA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants and resulting in a “decoupling” in some places between soaring case numbers and low death rates, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

“We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike other ones, the lungs who would be causing severe pneumonia,” WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud told Geneva-based journalists.

“It can be a good news, but we really require more studies to prove that.”

Since the heavily mutated variant was first detected in November, WHO data shows it has spread quickly and emerged in at least 128 countries, presenting dilemmas for many nations and people seeking to reboot their economies and lives after nearly two years of COVID-related disruptions.

However, while case numbers have surged to all-time records, the hospitalisation and death rates are often lower than at other phases in the pandemic.

“What we are seeing now is….the decoupling between the cases and the deaths,” he said.

His remarks on the reduced risks of severe disease chime with other data, including a study from South Africa, which was one of the first countries where Omicron was detected.

However, Mahamud also sounded a note of caution, calling South Africa an “outlier” since it has a young population, among other factors.

And he warned that Omicron’s high transmissibility meant it would become dominant within weeks in many places, posing a threat to medical systems in countries where a high proportion of the population remains unvaccinated.

VACCINATION, NOT VACCINES, ARE THE CHALLENGE

A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) during an executive board meeting on update on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Geneva, Switzerland, April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A man takes a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a pop-up testing site as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

A man takes a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a pop-up testing site as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

While Omicron seemed to be slipping past antibodies, evidence was emerging that COVID-19 vaccines still provided some protection, by eliciting a second pillar of the immune response from T-cells, Mahamud said.

“Our prediction is protection against severe hospitalization and death (from Omicron) will be maintained,” he said, saying this also applied to vaccines developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac that are used in China, where Omicron cases remain very low.

“The challenge has not been the vaccine but the vaccination and reaching those vulnerable populations.”

Asked about whether an Omicron-specific vaccine was needed, Mahamud said it was too early to say but voiced doubts and stressed that the decision required global coordination and should not be left to manufacturers to decide alone.

“You may go ahead with Omicron and put all your eggs in that basket and a new variant that is more transmissible or more immune-evasive may appear,” he said, adding that a WHO technical group had held recent meetings on vaccine composition.

The best way to reduce the impact of the variant would be to meet the WHO’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the population in each country by July, rather than offer third and fourth doses in some countries, he said.

As case numbers due to Omicron have soared, some countries, including the United States, have cut down isolation or quarantine periods in a bid to allow asymptomatic people to return to work or school.

Mahamud said that leaders should decide based on the strength of the local epidemic, saying Western countries with very high case numbers might consider trimming isolation periods to keep basic services functioning.

However, places that have largely shut it out would do better to maintain the full 14-day quarantine period.

“If your numbers are very small, you better be invested in keeping that number very, very low.”

Reporting by Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Alex Richardson

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Omicron evades immunity better than Delta, Danish study finds

A doctor shows vials of Biontech-Pfizer's Comirnaty vaccine against COVID-19 at the Institute for Health and Food Safety of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

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Panama tightens vaccination requirements for public officials as COVID cases rise

A Panamanian health worker receives the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Santo Tomas Hospital, in Panama City, Panama February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

A Panamanian health worker receives the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Santo Tomas Hospital, in Panama City, Panama February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

PANAMA CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Panama moved to require all public officials to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly coronavirus testing, the health minister said on Wednesday, as the Central American country grappled with a surge in coronavirus cases.

Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre announced in a news conference that Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo had signed the decree, which mandated public functionaries receive three doses of a coronavirus vaccine or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test each Monday.

“If there is something that cannot be stopped, it is the government institutions that have to continue to function,” Sucre said, adding the measure would take effect on Jan. 28.

Panama registered 4,372 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

At least 6 million vaccine doses have been administered in Panama to its population of about 4.2 million people, according to government data.

About 90% of the target population, or those above 12 years old, has received at least one vaccine dose and 81% has had a second dose.

The government last month said it would cut the rollout time for booster doses in half, after the country detected its first case of the Omicron variant.

More than 400,000 booster doses have been administered.

Reporting by Milagro Vallecillos in Panama City, writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Himani Sarkar
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  • Could offer an alternative advance protection for COVID-19
  • Addressing people with weakened immune system
  • Part of monoclonal antibody drug class

Oct 5 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca (AZN.L) has requested emergency approval from U.S. regulators for its antibody cocktail, the first protective shot other than vaccines against COVID-19, another potential major step in the global fight to combat the virus.

While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to develop targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, Astra’s biotech compound known as AZD7442 contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body for months to contain the virus in case of an infection.

COVID-19 therapies based on the same class of monoclonal antibodies are sold by rivals Regeneron (REGN.O), Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and its partner Vir (VIR.O) to stop the disease from worsening during early, milder stages of the infection.

The AstraZeneca therapy, designed to last several months to a year, could protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to COVID-19 vaccines due to, for instance, chemotherapy or anti-rejection drugs after organ transplants.

The drug, given in two sequential injections, could also supplement a vaccination course for those, such as military personnel, who need to booster their protection further, AstraZeneca has said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Regeneron’s drug in September for use in preventing COVID-19 after exposure to infected people. AstraZeneca’s application is however for prevention before any exposure.

Astra’s AZD7442 fell through in the post-exposure setting in a trial in June. Another trial is ongoing to test the drug as a treatment of the infected. read more

In a statement on Tuesday, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it included data in its filing with the FDA from a late-stage trial that showed the drug reduced the risk of people developing any COVID-19 symptoms by 77%. The positive trial data was published in August. read more

The logo for AstraZeneca is seen outside its North America headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
The logo for AstraZeneca is seen outside its North America headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski

SUPPLY TALKS

A U.S. authorisation for AZD7442 – based on antibodies discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the United States – could be a major win for AstraZeneca, whose widely used COVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved by U.S. authorities.

Talks regarding supply agreements for AZD7442 are ongoing with the United States and other governments, AstraZeneca said.

The company agreed in March to supply up to half a million extra doses of the antibody cocktail to the United States. The $205 million U.S. extension deal built on a U.S. contract a year ago for initial supplies of 200,000 doses. read more

In June last year, the U.S. provided $23.7 million in early funding for the development project.

Britain’s government also has an in-principle agreement over a million doses of AZD7442. The government declined to provide an update.

Under a plan to set up a global production network, Astra enlisted contract manufacturer Lonza (LONN.S) a year ago to produce the antibody treatment in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, starting in the first half of 2021.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the supply and production agreements.

Astra’s pioneering filing contrasts with delays in its quest for approval for its COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria in the United States, where the vast majority of those willing to get immunised have already received shots from the Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N)(22UAy.DE) alliance, Moderna (MRNA.O) or Johnson & Johnson . read more

Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Keith Weir

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U.S. Sends 119 Cuban Migrants Home as Growing Number Take to Sea

HAVANA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard said late on Tuesday it had returned 119 Cuban migrants to their island home after picking them up at sea, marking a growing trend of migration by water from the poor, communist-run country to its wealthy northern neighbor.

The migrants, swept up in 12 operations that took place over just three days in the South Florida Straits from the Bahamas to the Florida Keys, were found in boats adrift offshore, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.

Cuban state media said Tuesday’s repatriation was the largest in four years. Footage from the docks on Cuba’s north shore showed masked health workers clad in white receiving the migrants, who had been delivered by boat by U.S. authorities.

A growing group of migrants are trying their luck at sea in recent months as Cuba’s economy is battered by mounting U.S. sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hobbled international tourism vital for foreign exchange on the Caribbean island.

The dangerous crossing, complicated by swift ocean currents, relentless sun and wind and shoddy vessels, has claimed the lives of many Cubans over decades.

Coast Guard figures show 586 Cuban migrants have attempted to illegally migrate to the United States in the first three months of fiscal year 2022 alone, a far faster clip than in 2021, when the Coast Guard repatriated 838 Cubans all year.

The number of Cubans arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border also hit its highest in a decade between October 2020 and May 2021, according to U.S. immigration statistics, as many Cubans turn to overland routes to attempt to enter the United States. read more

Cuba says it advocates legal, orderly and safe migration, and has blamed the United States for the uptick in illegal migration, saying the country’s policies, including the Cold War-era embargo, encourage Cubans to risk their lives to leave the island.

U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said last year following unprecedented protests in Cuba that Cubans leaving the island “will not come to the United States.”

Reporting by Anett Rios and Dave Sherwood; editing by Barbara Lewis

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REUTERS WORLD NEWS: Riots in Kazakhstan, Record Virus Cases in US, N. Korea Missile, More

Here’s what you need to know.

  • The Kazakhstan government’s resignation fails to quell riots
  • North Korea fires a suspected ballistic missile
  • Fance’s Macron says he wants to ‘piss off’ the non-vaccinated

Today’s biggest stories

A nurse prepares to enter the room of a COVID patient in the Intensive Care Unit at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, U.S., January 4, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

COVID-19
  • The United States reported nearly 1 million new coronavirus infections, the highest daily tally of any country in the world and nearly double the previous U.S. peak set a week ago as the spread of the Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing.
  • Australia’s daily COVID-19 cases hit a record high for the third consecutive day, further straining hospital resources and testing facilities as public anger grows over the handling of the Omicron outbreak.
  • Hong Kong announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries and tightened local COVID-19 restrictions as authorities feared a fifth wave of coronavirus in the city.
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that England could withstand a surge in COVID-19 infections without shutting down the economy as Britain reported another record daily high in cases.
  • The French parliament suspended debate on a new COVID-19 law as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to “piss off” unvaccinated people. The new legislation will make it mandatory for people to show proof of vaccination to enter a restaurant or cinema, or take the train.

WORLD
BUSINESS
  • China Evergrande Group will seek a six-month delay in the redemption and coupon payments of a $157 million bond in a meeting with bond holders this weekend, underscoring the pressure on the debt-laden property developer.
  • Walmart said it plans to hire more than 3,000 U.S. delivery drivers and build out a fleet of all-electric delivery vans to support its “in-home” grocery delivery service, its latest investment in its last-mile fulfillment network.
  • Allegiant Air is poised to order 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets worth $5 billion at list prices, people familiar with the matter said, rejecting offers by traditional supplier Airbus as the no-frills carrier seeks to capture a boom in post-pandemic U.S. tourism.
  • Japan’s Sony plans to launch a company this spring to examine entering the electric vehicle market, looking to harness its strengths in entertainment and sensors to play a bigger role in next-generation mobility.
  • John Deere & Co said it will start commercial delivery this year of technology that enables a tractor to till a field without an operator in the cab, a first for the top North American tractor manufacturer after years of effort to automate farm work.
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Quote of the day
“There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

 

Djokovic flying into vaccine exemption storm in Australia

And finally…

Thailand allows visitors back to beach made famous by movie

Thailand has reopened Maya Bay, a white sand beach made famous by the 2000 film ‘The Beach’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio, more than three years after closing it to allow its ecosystem to recover from the impact of thousands of visitors each day.

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Caribbean Hotel Assn. Urges Adoption of US, UK Covid Isolation Rules

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Barbados: More than 100 Candidates Nominated to Contest Jan. 19 Election

Barbados’ two major political parties have nominated 60 candidates to contest the January 19 snap general election announced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley last week.

The Supervisor of Elections, Angela Taylor, said Monday’s Nomination Day went smoothly and electoral official said that apart from the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP), candidates representing five other political parties and nine independents will contest the elections.

They said a total of 108 candidates will vie for the 30 seats in the Parliament. In the last general election, the BLP won all 30 seats, crushing the then DLP government.

But one BLP member, Bishop Joseph Atherley, crossed the floor to become Opposition Leader and is leading a coalition Alliance Party for Progress (APP) into the election.

The APP is contesting 20 seats and Bishop Atherley, told voters that a BLP administration would not take Barbados in the right direction and suggested that there was a need for a change in Government.

He told reporters that regardless of the outcome of the polls, the country needs a strong opposition in Parliament.

“Change this government, or if you feel satisfied with what they are doing, make sure that the Opposition in the Parliament, which has been doing its job, is strengthened,” headed.

Both Prime Minister Mottley and the DLP leader, Verla De Peiza, say they are confident of victory.

“We have to take some decisions that will position this country to face some of the most difficult circumstances in the next 10 to 15 years,” Mottley told reporters, while De Peiza said, “it is clear that the dissatisfaction with present administration did not take long to set in and let’s face it, it’s a series of own goals that brought them to that point and our people are very pleased to have the opportunity to signal their discontent earlier than they expected”.

CMC

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Guyana Reports Highest Daily Covid Total-485

Loop- Over the last 24 hours, 485 coronavirus (COVID-19) infections were detected in Guyana to set a record for new infections in one day.

The startling statistic was revealed by Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony during today’s COVID-19 update.

“These numbers would go further,” Anthony remarked.

Currently, Guyana has 1,824 active infections and the government is awaiting samples collected in several administrative regions to be processed.

Region four leads the way with 1,13 active infections.

Anthony expects cases in Regions Six, Three, Two and Nine, where active infections are low, to increase significantly due to the omicron variant of COVID-19.

“With the omicron variant, it is highly contagious, the numbers double every four days or so. If people are not taking precautions, more and more people are going to get sick,” he commented.

Hospitalisations are also increasing in Guyana as 64 persons were admitted with various stages of illness over the last 24 hours.

Anthony revealed that all of the new hospital patients are receiving oxygen.

About 80.3 per cent of Guyana’s adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and Anthony has urged persons to take the jab since it offers them a good chance to survive when they are infected with COVID-19.

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Puerto Rico Curbs Night Business, Implements Dry Law Amid Covid Spike

By Jorge J. Muñiz Ortiz

San Juan, Jan 4 (EFE).- The explosion of Covid-19 cases in Puerto Rico has led the island’s government, starting Tuesday and lasting through Jan. 18, to shut down nighttime business activities and impose a dry law, among other restrictions.

The new Executive Order 2021-086 signed by Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has been roundly criticized by local businessmen and bans alcohol sales and shuts down businesses catering to the public from midnight to 5 am.

The bans, the latest attempt to contain the record number of new Covid-19 cases in the US commonwealth, most of them from the highly contagious Omicron variant, have sparked anger among the owners and managers of small businesses selling food and drink, the working hours of many of which had extended past midnight.

Ivan Villahermosa, the administrator for Casa Cataño and AquiCBB, two local businesses, criticized the new executive order for singling out restaurants and bars as the presumed spots where people are being infected.

“I’m in agreement with everything that’s for the good of the people. What’s happening is that we’re always breaking up and penalizing restaurants and bars,” he said in an interview with EFE on the seaside avenue in Cataño, a municipality next to San Juan.

He said that Casa Cataño will not be affected by the new order, but AquiCBB will be, where the normal closing time is 2 am. Thus, that establishment will have to curtail its operations by two hours, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost potential revenue.

The new order also prohibits all gatherings of more than 250 people, whether at inside or outside venues, but it does not mention shopping centers or big markets to which thousands of shoppers flock at the same time each day.

“So, (they) won’t be hit but (we) will be? That’s why many of us are bothered. We have to be fair with each other,” Villahermosa said.

Given that situation, the businessman proposed that the mayors of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities issue their own orders and restrictions to halt the spread of Covid on the island, where on Tuesday the positive testing rate reached 33.18 percent.

According to figures from the local Health Department, over the past 24 hours more than 8,700 new Covid cases were detected, including cases confirmed with molecular and antigen tests, and four people have died from the virus.

Meanwhile, Jose Lomba, one of the three owners of a event organizing firm called Pinchoneo in Guaynabo, another municipality near San Juan, told EFE that “the government always does things that affect the small businesses and leaves the big ones alone.”

“I don’t believe in closing down, but I do (believe in) taking care of oneself and getting vaccinated. If, in the morning, you think that Covid has hit you, then everyone go home at that time,” said the businessman and event promoter.

Lomba said that Pinchoneo has no specific closing time, since on certain occasions it keeps operating until 4 am to manage a public event, but the new order will force it to shut down and to inform its customers that they have to leave.

“Now, at 11 pm, I have to kick people out and at 12 you have to clean up everything, because if not Finance and Health comes and verifies that there’s no longer any food at the business or they fine you,” he said.

He said that the business will lose about 20 percent of its potential income due to the new order.

The order is not the only one to enter into force over the past week, after capacity restrictions were imposed in local nightspots and negative Covid tests or evidence of vaccination were required of anyone wanting to attend public events.

The governor has also approved a series of measures, including obligatory anti-Covid booster shots for all healthcare personnel, teachers, police officers and restaurant and supermarket workers, among others.

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Jump in Dorestation Alarms Brazilian Scientists

By

SAO PAULO, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Deforestation last year rose to the highest level since 2015 in Brazil’s Cerrado, prompting scientists on Monday to raise alarm over the state of the world’s most species-rich savanna, a major carbon sink that helps to stave off climate change.

The Cerrado, which is spread across several states of Brazil and is one of the world’s largest savannas, is often called an “upside-down forest” because of the deep roots its plants sink into the ground to survive seasonal droughts and fires.

Destruction of these trees, grasses and other plants in the Cerrado is a major source of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, although it is far less densely forested than the more famous Amazon rainforest that it borders.

Deforestation and other clearances of native vegetation in the Cerrado rose 8% to 8,531 square kilometers in the 12 months through July, Brazil’s official period for measuring deforestation, according to national space research agency Inpe. That is more than 10 times the size of New York City’s land area of 783.84 square km.

“It’s extremely worrying,” said Mercedes Bustamante, an ecologist at the University of Brasilia.

Bustamante also criticized the government for a lack of transparency for announcing the deforestation data on New Year’s Eve.

The added destruction is particularly concerning, scientists say, when considering that roughly half of the Cerrado has been destroyed since the 1970s, mostly for farming and ranching.

An aerial view shows deforestation near a forest on the border between Amazonia and Cerrado in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso state, Brazil July 28, 2021. Picture taken July 28, 2021 with a drone. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli//File Photo
A forest in Cerrado biome is seen in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso state, Brazil July 28, 2021. Picture taken July 28. 2021 REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

 

An aerial view shows a dead tree near a forest on the border between Amazonia and Cerrado in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso state, Brazil July 28, 2021. Picture taken July 28, 2021 with a drone. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo

“You’re transforming thousands of square kilometers annually,” said Manuel Ferreira, a geographer at the Federal University of Goias.

“Few other places on earth have seen that rapid of a transformation.”

Ferreira said that new plant and animal species are regularly being discovered in the Cerrado and that many are probably being eradicated before they can be studied.

After falling from highs in the early 2000s, deforestation in the Cerrado has been creeping up again since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019, calling for more farming and development in sensitive ecosystems.

Last month, a Brazilian soy lobby group said that data showed farmers were increasingly using previously cleared land in the Cerrado rather than deforesting wholly new areas to plant the cash crop. More than half of Brazil’s soy farmland is in the Cerrado.

Bustamante and other scientists blame Bolsonaro for encouraging deforestation with his pro-development rhetoric and for rolling back environmental enforcement.

Bolsonaro’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment. He has previously defended his policies as a means to lift the interior of the country out of poverty and pointed out that Brazil has preserved far more of its territory than Europe or the United States.

“Deforestation is the most naked and raw indicator of the terrible environmental policy of this government,” said Ane Alencar, the science director at the non-profit Amazon Environmental Research Institute.

Reporting by Jake Spring; editing by Grant McCool and Rosalba O’Brien

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Peru Posecutor to Probe Pres. Castillo for Alleged Influence Pddling

LIMA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Peru’s attorney general opened a preliminary investigation against leftist president Pedro Castillo on Monday on allegations of collusion and influence peddling in cases related to government public works contracts.

The prosecutor announced the probe of Castillo for alleged influence peddling, focusing on meetings that Castillo had with representatives of companies vying for a contract to build a bridge in an Amazon area and another for the sale of fuel to the state-owned Petroperu, said a statement from the prosecution on Twitter.

It said the president “improperly intervened” in the bidding process.

Castillo, whose popularity has fallen rapidly after taking office at the end of July, has rejected the accusations. He says they are orchestrated by his opponents, who want to oust him.

The administration’s press office was not immediately available to comment. Five of Peru’s former presidents have been investigated for corruption over recent years.

Presidents of Peru are immune from prosecution during their five-year term, but they can be investigated.

Reporting by Marco Aquino, Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

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