Seven Peruvians—Arminda Valladares Saba, Melissa Rocío Patiño Hinostroza, Guadalupe Alejandrina Hilario Rivas, Maria Gabriel Segura, Carmen Mercedes Asparrent Riveros, Roque Gonzáles La Rosa and Damaris Velasco Huiza—remain in detention following their arrest late last month on the border with Ecuador as they returned to their country after participating in a meeting of the Bolivarian Continental Coordinator (CCB) which took place in Quito, Feb. 24-28. The seven, members of the CCB Peruvian chapter (CCB-P), were detained under suspicion of "Affiliation and Collaboration in Terrorism."

The CCB is a public forum that brings together civil society organizations interested in promoting the "Bolivarian Revolution" in Latin America. The Bolivarian Revolution, inspired by Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, calls for Latin American unity, socialist political ideals and the promotion of widespread protest activities as a means of resistance to global capitalism. According to media reports, some participants in the Quito CCB meeting discussed protesting the Latin American-European Union (ALC-UE) and Asian Pacific Cooperation (APEC) international summits to be held in Peru in May and November, respectively. (Rights Action, March 22)

See our last post on Peru.