Peru's supreme procuratorate sues Fujimori
Peru's top procurator on Thursday demanded a sentence of nine years and four months in jail and a fine of 15 million US dollars against ex-president Alberto Fujimori for complicity with his former aide and ex-spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos.

Percy Penaranda, of the Supreme Procuratorate, said in an indictment that Fujimori is suspected of allowing Montesinos to get the position as chief of the National Intelligence Service through illegal means during his 1990-2000 rule.

Montesinos was sentenced to 15 years in prison in June on charges that he paid television station owners millions of dollars to support Fujimori.

Penaranda also requested a renewed warrant from the Peru justice to arrest Fujimori, who is living in Japan, with the help of Interpol.

Fujimori fled Peru in November 2000 amid a corruption scandal and came to Japan after attending an international conference in Brunei, faxing his resignation as president from a Tokyo hotel.

The 65-year-old ex-president faces a number of charges ranging from corruption to human rights violations.

Peru's request for the extradition of Fujimori was rejected by the Japanese government, which cited his Japanese citizenship and the lack of an extradition treaty between the two governments.
 

Landslide in Ecuador leaves 6 wounded, 8 missing
The Ecuadorian Red Cross on Thursday said a landslide near the capital on Wednesday afternoon left six workers injured and eight missing.

Rescuers are trying to locate the missing, but excavation efforts were hampered by the lack of heavy machinery.

The injured are being treated at hospitals, said the Red Cross.

The workers were doing construction work on the road at the time of the landslide, the Red Cross said.
 

Colombian gov't lukewarm to integrating paramilitaries into army
The Colombian government was lukewarm on Thursday to a proposal that called for an integration of right-wing paramilitary fighters into the armed forces of the country.

"The government does not have a position in this respect, it is one of the alternatives made by the intermediaries, yet it is not a formal proposal," said Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt.

The initiative was put forth by former congressman Carlos Aconso Lucio in a peace process between the government and the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

Lucio, who used to be a member of a disbanded guerrilla group, promoted the entry of former AUC members into the armed forces in the name of "re-training" supervised by officials.

Pretelt said although the government is ready to listen "to all proposals," such an idea does not mean "it will necessarily happen."

The minister indicated that the trend is to reintegrate the former rebels into productive lives in the agricultural sector.

The AUC, one of Colombia's largest right-wing paramilitaries, was established in the 1980s by drug traffickers and land owners to fight leftist guerrillas in areas where government troops had little control. It has been active in northern Colombia, particularly in the areas of Antioquia and Cordoba.

The two sides agreed in May to create a special zone in Cordoba with the aim of demobilizing some 13,000 combatants by the end of 2005.

In the safe zone, the rebels will be protected by government troops and exempted from prosecution. But they will not be able to leave without government authorization.

The AUC demobilization process will help ease the four-decade-long civil war in Colombia, which kills about 3,500 people a year.
 

Venezuela skyscraper reinforced after weekend fire
Work has started to reinforce a 56-story building in Caracas feared to be collapsing after a weekend fire, local press reported on Thursday.

The reinforcement is indispensable, because the floors above the 33rd are seriously damaged, Civil Protection Director Antonio Rivero was quoted by local daily El Universal as saying.

The 221-meter Torre Este, one of the highest skyscrapers in Caracas, was built in the late 1970s.

The fire started early Sunday in the building, which houses the National Aviation Institute and the Infrastructure Ministry.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Rivero said debris still keep on falling from ceilings and walls, making the probe more difficult.

The Infrastructure Ministry has curtailed operations due to serious damage to its facilities.