Peru arrests 2 carrying $150,000 over Ecuador border

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Authorities arrested two Peruvians on Monday as they tried to enter the country from Ecuador carrying some US$150,000 in cash, and a top official said they are linked to groups that may be funded by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government. "This morning police captured two individuals, one carrying $50,000 and the other $100,000," President Alan Garcia's Cabinet chief, Jorge del Castillo, said in a meeting with foreign journalists. "Where did they get it?" A congressional investigation concluded last week that Venezuela likely funds Peruvian leftist groups, including organizations backing a trade bloc promoted by Chavez as an alternative to US-sponsored trade initiatives. A Venezuelan official denied the report's conclusions. A Venezuelan link is also suspected in the case of Roque Gonzalez, a former high-ranking member of the Cuban-inspired Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA, who was arrested Feb. 29 and is charged with forming part of an international terrorist group.