Juan Velasco Alvarado - Foreign and Military Policies

Foreign and Military Policies

General Velasco's other main goal besides the nationalization of the main areas of the Peruvian economy and the agrarial reforms, was to militarily reconquer the lands lost by Peru to Chile in the War of the Pacific.

It is estimated that from 1970 to 1975 Peru spent up to 2 Billion USD on Soviet armament. According to various sources Velasco's government bought between 600 to 1200 T-55 Main Battle Tanks, APC`s, 60 to 90 Sukhoi 22 warplanes, 500,000 assault rifles, and even considered the purchase of a British carrier Centaur-class light fleet carrier HMS Bulwark. 3.

The enormous amount of weaponry purchased by Peru caused a meeting between former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Chilean president, general and US-backed dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1976. Velasco's military plan was to launch a massive sea, air, and land invasion against Chile. At that time Chile was almost broke financially and even in 1999 General Pinochet claimed that if Peru attacked Chile during 1975, Peruvian forces could have penetrated deep into Chilean territory all the way to Copiapó city located half way to Santiago. To defend itself the launching of a preventive war was considered by the Chilean Armed Forces. Though, Chilean Air Force General Fernando Matthei opposed a preventive war and responded that I can guarantee that the Peruvians would destroy the Chilean Air Force in the first five minutes of the war.

The D-Day for a Peruvian attack was supposed to be on October 5, 1975.

Alvarado has stated the government never had any intentions of attacking Chile at all, and that the military exercises were merely defensive. They informed of their border exercises to Chilean army and authorities.

Some analysts believe the fear of attack by Chilean and US officials as largely unjustified but logical for them to think that considering that the Pinochet dictatorship had come into power last year with a coup against democratically elected president Salvador Allende. According to sources, the alleged invasion scheme could be seen from the Chilean's government perspective as a plan for some kind of leftist counterattack.

—Juan Velasco Alvarado