Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo asked the Organization of
American States (OAS) on Monday to give a ruling on Venezuela's
interference in Peru's election, local media reported.
Toledo called on Lloyd Axworthy, head of the OAS's observer
mission in Peru and former Canadian foreign minister, to rule on
statements made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The Peru-Venezuela diplomatic crisis flared up in March, when
Chavez spoke out in favor of Ollanta Humala, who leads the Peru
Nationalist Union Party, and against Alan Garcia from the Peru
Aprist Party. The two are now the final two candidates for the
Peruvian presidency, and due for their final round on June 4.
The two presidents' relationship reached its lowest point when
Chavez announced he was resigning from the Andean Community of
Nations (CAN), because of free trade deals signed by Peru and
Colombia, further claiming that the United States had killed the
CAN.
Later, amid an escalating war of words, Peru withdrew its
ambassador from Caracas and Venezuela recalled its ambassador from
Lima.
(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2006)
