Two months after assuming the presidency, he has already taken out the Minister of Defense and the Chancellor. Last Friday, when everything was ready for the signing of the contract between the Government of Peru and the American company Lockheed Martin to acquire 24 F-16 Block 70 combat aircraft, Balcázar suspended the ceremony and postponed the purchase. He commented on a radio that due to the transitory nature of his mandate – it will end in July – it was up to the next government to close that agreement valued at 3.5 billion dollars.
His position divided waters between those who consider that it is the first sovereign decision of a low-profile president and those who maintain that his refusal puts diplomatic relations with the government of Donald Trump at risk. Almost immediately, Bernie Navarro, United States ambassador in Peru, raised the tone of the discussion with a message on his social networks indicating that “if you act in bad faith and undermine the interests of the United States” he would use “all available tools to promote the prosperity and security” of the North American giant.
If you negotiate in bad faith with the United States and undermine American interests, please be assured that as a representative of the Trump Administration I will use all available tools to protect and promote the prosperity and security of our country and the region.
— Navarro Ambassador (@USAmbPeru)
The acquisition of fighter aircraft to renew the fleet of the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) is an operation that began during Dina Boluarte’s administration. She even defended the million-dollar bet in a Message to the Nation, where she maintained that “it was not a useless purchase.” His successor, José Jerí, continued with the business procedures. In the transition between Jerí and Balcázar, American F-16s emerged and unilaterally opted for.
Last Monday, various journalistic sources assured that the contract for the 24 combat aircraft to the North American Government had been signed in absolute secrecy, far from the initial pomp. It was even learned that Ambassador Bernie Navarro met with Defense Minister Carlos Díaz. The next day, President José María Balcázar reaffirmed that he had not signed any document and that this corresponded to the next head of state.
This Wednesday, Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela and Defense Minister Carlos Díaz came out publicly to summon the president, accusing him of having lied to the nation. “He knew that the two contracts had been signed on Monday the 20th and after that he has been saying that these contracts have not been signed. That is a blatant lie,” said de Zela. Díaz, for his part, said that the contracts were signed by the Peruvian Air Force and the delegation of the American company Lockheed Martin. “It’s already finished,” he said. Both submitted their resignations to the Cabinet this morning.
“As supreme head of the Armed Forces, on Friday, April 17, President Balcázar announced that the purchase contract for the F-16s will not be signed. On April 20, 72 hours later, the FAP signed the commercial agreement, ignoring the mandate of the head of state. Who acted outside the law?” questioned Ángel Páez, head of the newspaper’s Investigation Unit. The Republic. In fact, according to what was said by the resigning ministers, it can be inferred that the acquisition of the combat aircraft was completed bypassing the presidential inauguration.
This afternoon, José María Balcázar, 83, gave a message to the nation, and admitted that he did not have the last word in the operation. “I have not intervened in those negotiations, so it cannot be said that I have lied. What I am saying is that this contract be respected by the new Government, nothing more. My statements cannot be distorted,” he stressed.
Of course, the president has said that he has not yet authorized the first disbursement for the purchase of the combat aircraft, since one must “act prudently and make purchases reasonably.” The priority of the fiscal fund, he emphasizes, is “to meet the needs in drinking water, health and education.”
The third vice president of Congress, Ilich López, . “National security is not negotiated. Outside of the geopolitical calculation or which country sells the planes to Peru, there is the protection of state secrets and the defense of our national and territorial security,” he said.
