Peru’s president-elect demands freedoms in Venezuela

(Photo: Martin Mejia - AP)

Peru’s pro-business President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won his country’s elections by a hair with the last-minute help of a leftist party, but — judging from what he told me in an interview — he won’t budge on his criticism of Venezuela and other repressive regimes.

Kuczynski, a former Miami resident better known by his initials PPK, had been very critical of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during his campaign, though there was speculation that he would tone down his rhetoric once elected. But when I asked him if he still intends to call for the release of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and other Venezuelan political prisoners once he is inaugurated on July 28, he responded, “Absolutely!”

“I continue to maintain that these are political prisoners, and that the Maduro government should release them immediately,” Kuczynski said.

In response to a follow-up question on whether Venezuela should hold a recall referendum this year, as demanded by the opposition, Kuczynski suggested that he supports that option.

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