Soberón had come under fire for his strong links with coca grower leaders, who had formed a key part of Humala’s support base. His dismissal will set the seal on their mounting disenchantment with Humala. The prime minister, Oscar Valdés, has imposed more discipline over his cabinet to try and prevent controversial issues such as the Conga copper and gold mine proposal, from becoming inflamed. It was notable that in his previous post as interior minister Valdés ordered the resumption of coca eradication in the Alto Huallaga just one week after Soberón announced its temporary suspension. This underlined the internal tension over the redesign of the country’s drug policy, which threatened to antagonise the US at a time when Peru is displacing Colombia as the world’s largest coca producer.
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