Why has the announcement of the purchase of combat aircraft generated controversy in Peru?

They will cost 3.5 billion dollars and will be acquired in an international process in the coming months. There will be 24 warplanes and the first of them must be delivered to Peru before the end of the first half of 2026, just before the end of Dina Boluarte’s government.

But amid concerns about the internal security of the country, devastated by the actions of criminal organizations and political decisions that make their fight difficult, the announcement of the acquisition of the fleet of combat ships caused controversy.

Some local media outlets called the purchase “absurd” and questioned whether it was a “national need,” taking into account the wave of citizen insecurity, the state of public services and the corruption scandals surrounding military purchases.

The Voice of America He spoke with former prime minister and retired military officer Óscar Valdés, who considered that the acquisition of the fighter planes is justified.

“It was necessary to buy these fighter planes now… Unfortunately, in Peru nothing like this was done for 30 years, so the Air Force is almost obsolete, that is why in some way it is justified to buy this,” said.

“It was not bought before because the governments did not want to buy, because the politicians said no and postponed and said for next time, for the next time, and we have been relegating a purchase that is necessary. The Armed Forces have been requesting these purchases for many years,” he stated.

Purchases dotted with scandals

When Defense Minister Walter Astudillo confirmed the acquisition of the ships this week, he described the decision as “very important” and “historic” and said that this sought to guarantee the defense of the country.

The last major purchase of fighter aircraft was made in the 1990s, during the government of Alberto Fujimori. These were 18 MiG-29 interceptor aircraft and 18 Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft, all of which were used and were purchased at a premium between 1996 and 1998, at a time when Peru was having a border dispute with its neighbor Ecuador.

For this acquisition, the Peruvian government paid 536 million dollars, of which 320 million were to pay bribes, according to the Peruvian justice system, which convicted seven important officials in the case. Fujimori’s former advisor, Vladimiro Montesinos, currently imprisoned, acknowledged that he received million-dollar payments to facilitate the operation.

The other important purchase, which was also surrounded by scandal, was that of Mirage 2000 aircraft in the 1980s. Former President Alan García was accused of receiving bribes of more than 100 million dollars to sign a new contract and acquire fewer aircraft. as provided for in a prior agreement. The case was reported by a senator in 1986.

“Normally the commissions from those who sell weapons are already included in the costs. Today, with the White Paper (for defense), with transparency, with the control that the Comptroller’s Office has over purchases, it is already more difficult to make or carry out. It’s not like before when they said military secrets and everything happened. It is no longer like that,” said former Prime Minister Valdés.

Meaningful criticism?

According to experts, Peru has not made significant investments in defense in recent decades and a reflection of this is that its air fleet has already been in service for almost 40 years and its ground equipment has been in service for a similar period.

This contrasts with purchases made by its southern neighbor, Chile, which acquired F-16 fighters last decade and is the only country in South America with this type of aircraft. And more recently Argentina, which announced in April of this year that it reached an agreement to acquire 24 aircraft, also F-16.

“Security is integral: it is internal and external at the same time. One should not have greater weight over the other. So if this is the case and they are thinking of investing or spending, however you want to see it, 3.5 billion dollars to acquire 24 new combat aircraft, I think that it would be necessary to invest, although not a similar figure, at least a strong figure, to make against organized crime, which is an issue of national security at this time and that the government is not facing as it should,” he told the VOA Carlos Rada, analyst on international and military issues.

“I do believe that this purchase is imperative, even more so in the worsening of conflicts at a global level, but this large investment in the external defense of the country should go hand in hand with the internal defense of the country,” he highlighted.

Last week, Peruvian business associations said that the State is “losing the battle” against organized crime, in an escalation that has forced the Government to call in the military to help the police ensure security in Lima.

The government decreed a state of emergency for 60 days in 12 districts of Lima in search of stopping the increase in crime, after bus drivers in the city stopped their services to demand greater protection from the authorities after a wave of extortions and attacks on the sector.

Given the criticism from some sectors of the purchase of the fighters, Defense Minister Astudillo asked Congress and the Public Ministry to initiate investigations against those who question the purchase “to determine if they are defending the interests of other countries.” If so, they would be “involving treason to the country,” he said.

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