Across Difficult Country

The affair in Andahuaylas has ended with the surrender of Maj. Antauro Humala. But all is not lost : Toledo said 40 of Humala's supporters were arrested after he was detained and a police officer from the tactical operations unit told Reuters another 90 turned themselves in. "We're scouring the area because we have information some have escaped," said the officer, who declined to be named. Not only have they escaped, but if all is going according to plan the fellows are on their way to Seattle. I'm sure when they finally get there they will have a great time. Andahuaylas was an asinine place to stage a rebellion anyway. There is nothing here, yet people first migrated all the way here thousands of years ago. Who (or what?) was chasing them? In the day time the locals ride around aimlessly on llamas, since they have no work to do. At night they get drunk and have sex with those same llamas. It's quite sad. I'm perpetually baffled as to why ...

I've finally reached Andahuaylas, Peru (approximately 560 miles southeast of Lima), site of the rebel hostage crisis . I am working with chief of police Felix Murazzo and (Peruvian) Congressman Michael Martinez to negotiate Maj. Antauro Humala's surrender and exile to Seattle. Chief Murazzo and I agree things are proceeding well, will know more about the Major's intentions by tomorrow's agreed upon deadline to begin surrender (7:30 AM local time).

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- About 150 followers of a retired army major seized a police station in a remote Andean town Saturday, demanding the resignation of President Alejandro Toledo. The lunatic behind this operation, Major Antauro Humala, initially seems the typical Latino insurrectionist (he "wears army fatigues with pistols tucked in his belt ", for some reason the stock costume of South American rebel leaders, both Left and Right). But what I find captivating about Maj. Humala (and what has drawn me to his rebellion) is that he seeks "to establish a xenophobic nationalist indigenous movement modeled on the ancient Inca Empire". This is a brilliant idea, but the mistake Maj. Humala is making is trying to make it happen in Peru. The Peruvian government will never stand for it, the Peruvian Army will arrive in overwhelming numbers, and he and his intrepid men will die in a hail of bullets, an ending as predictable and clichéd as Maj. Humala's choice of outfit. So I ...