U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Peru for talks later Thursday with President Alejandro Toledo on hemispheric issues.
Secretary Rumsfeld flew to Peru Wednesday from Paraguay, where dozens of protesters heckled him as he attended a military ceremony in Asuncion.
Mr. Rumsfeld's itinerary in Paraguay included talks with President Nicanor Duarte Frutos on concerns about Cuban and Venezuelan influence in neighboring Bolivia. The defense secretary said there is evidence Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in Bolivia in what he termed "unhelpful ways," but he declined to elaborate.
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa resigned in June after farmers, miners and labor groups staged large protests to demand nationalization of the oil industry and redistribution of energy profits to help the country's poor.
Chief Justice Eduardo Rodriguez has been serving as interim president.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP, Reuters.
