Peru Grants Asylum to 2 Venezuelan Military Officers (Update1)

By Inti Landauro

Lima, April 27 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Peru granted political asylum to two retired Venezuelan military officers who participated in a civil disobedience campaign against President Hugo Chavez, bringing to five the number of Venezuelans who received asylum in the past year.

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry said in a statement it granted asylum to retired military officers Wismerck Martinez and Jose Landaeta. They will go to Peru immediately after Venezuela authorizes the travel, the statement said. The pair applied for asylum on Thursday.

The Peruvian ministry gave no details as to why it accepted the officers' request. The Dominican Republic Embassy in Caracas is still considering the request of two other officers who applied for asylum on Thursday.

Martinez and Landaeta are the latest Venezuelan opposition leaders to receive asylum in the past year since a military coup deposed Chavez for two days in April last year. They follow Carlos Ortega, a union leader, who was granted asylum last month by Costa Rica.

Dissident military officers took over Plaza Francia in the upper-class neighborhood of Altamira in October, calling for civil disobedience against Chavez. The officers, who now number more than 100, have promised to stay in the square until Chavez resigns.

Two of the officers have been arrested this year, while another three were murdered. Investigations into the murders are continuing.

Venezuelan newspapers reported yesterday that security forces have stepped up patrols at the country's embassies to prevent other officers from seeking asylum.