"No women, no beer, no fiesta," a Peruvian mercenary said gloomily as he manned his post inside the Iraqi capital's ultra-protected Green Zone.
Around a thousand of his countrymen along with a handful of Chileans make up a security detail in this immense fortified sector of Baghdad, which houses the Iraqi government's offices and the US and British embassies.
The South Americans comprise a "third rung" of security, behind Iraqi regular soldiers and a unit of Georgians, members of the US-led coalition forces from the former Soviet republic.
The Peruvians are employed by the private US security firm Triple Canopy based in Virginia.
About a year ago, the Peruvians replaced the famed Nepalese Gurkhas who had served in the British army, but not because the South Americans were judged more competent. They replaced the Nepalese because they were cheaper.
A Western private security operative from a modern army -- such as an American, a Briton or a South African -- can earn US$8,000 to US$16,000 per month, one private security official said. The Gurkhas were earning around US$3,000 per month. The Peruvians earn about one-third of that.
Other firms employ Colombians, Mexicans or Panamanians. The South Americans, who are all former soldiers aged between 25 and 40, mostly come from poor, rural areas. Their missions last one year, with a break after six months for home leave.
In their position as the third line of defense, the Peruvians are not typically exposed to grave danger. Most have never left the Green Zone and some ask: "What's the Red Zone like?" in reference to the rest of Iraq.
Indeed, their primary enemy is the heat, as most are posted in exposed guard posts. Boredom is their other key enemy.
"There is nothing to do here," one man said.
"We watch television," said another. "But we'd like to be able to go out a bit at night."
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
‘A THREAT’: Guyanese President Irfan Ali called on Venezuela to follow international court rulings over the region, whose border Guyana says was ratified back in 1899 Misael Zapara said he would vote in Venezuela’s first elections yesterday for the territory of Essequibo, despite living more than 100km away from the oil-rich Guyana-administered region. Both countries lay claim to Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. Guyana has administered the region for decades. The centuries-old dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits a decade ago, giving Guyana the largest crude oil reserves per capita in the world. Venezuela would elect a governor, eight National Assembly deputies and regional councilors in a newly created constituency for the 160,000
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the