International analyst Oscar Vidarte described the attack on Judge Juan Carlos Nunez as serious, noting that it “should warrant a response from the Peruvian government.”

  As background, Vidarte cites the magistrate’s granting of an *amparo* (constitutional protection) ruling in favor of Qosco Shipping—the concessionaire for the private Chancay megaport, built by a Chinese-Peruvian consortium—amid a dispute regarding the level of state control over the terminal.

  “The message to the Peruvian justice system is clear: if you affect US interests, you will face repercussions,” added the university professor and international affairs analyst.

  He added that Washington’s decision was announced within the framework of commitments made under the “Shield of the Americas”—an initiative involving 15 countries led by the United States—which President Keiko Fujimori joined “without disclosing the responsibilities Peru would be assuming.”

  Even more explicit was the US Ambassador to Peru, Bernardo “Bernie” Navarro, an outspoken figure who has embraced the task of demonizing China’s significant economic presence in Peru.

  The revocation of visas for the Peruvian judge and his family—as well as for individuals from Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador—calls into question the “Shield of the Americas.”

  It serves as a Washington-controlled instrument lacking collective decision-making; Washington uses it to advance its own interests in matters unrelated to the criminality the vaguely defined project was ostensibly created to address.

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