"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."
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
VENEZUELAN ACTION: Marco Rubio said that previous US interdiction efforts have not stemmed the flow of illicit drugs into the US and that ‘blowing them up’ would US President Donald Trump on Wednesday justified a lethal military strike that his administration said was carried out a day earlier against a Venezuelan gang as a necessary effort by the US to send a message to Latin American cartels. Asked why the military did not instead interdict the vessel and capture those on board, Trump said that the operation would cause drug smugglers to think twice about trying to move drugs into the US. “There was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people and everybody fully understands that,” Trump said while hosting Polish President
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
A French couple kept Louise, a playful black panther, in an apartment in northern France, triggering panic when she was spotted roaming nearby rooftops. The pair were were handed suspended jail sentences on Thursday for illegally keeping a wild animal, despite protesting that they saw Louise as their baby. The ruling follows a September 2019 incident when the months-old feline was seen roaming a rooftop in Armentieres after slipping out of the couple’s window. Authorities captured the panther by sedating her with anesthetic darts after she entered a home. No injuries were reported during the animal’s time on the loose. The court in the
RSS