Lima, Jan 21 (EFE). - Peru's interim president, the right-wing José Jerí, denounced a conspiracy against him and a clear intention to destabilize the country on Wednesday after a series of videos emerged about semi-clandestine meetings he held with a Chinese businessman, as well as visits to the Government Palace by another businessman of the same nationality under house arrest. "I also want to know who is behind this entire conspiracy. I also want to know who has been behind it and what their real objective was," Jerí stated during his appearance before the Congress's Oversight and Control Commission. The interim president, who recently completed one hundred days in office after replacing ousted President Dina Boluarte (2022-2025) as president of Congress, reiterated that he has not lied to the country at any time and that, without pointing fingers at anyone, an attempt is being made to give everyday activities, such as going to a restaurant or a store, a "malicious" background. To date, it is known that on December 26, around midnight, he arrived in disguise accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Vicente Tiburcio, at a chifa – a restaurant serving tusán (Peruvian-Chinese) food – owned by Chinese businessman and state contractor Zhihua 'Johnny' Yang; and on January 6, he visited a store owned by the same businessman, which had been closed by municipal authorities just hours earlier. Regarding his visit to the chifa, Jerí "categorically" denied that he committed any irregular act at the time, stating it was an unplanned meeting and reiterating his apology for going to the restaurant in disguise. "If one wanted to commit an irregular act, which I have categorically denied, one would not go with their Minister of the Interior, would not go with their security detail, and besides, would not invite them to dine with them. I am an objective and impartial president who does not yield to pressure, but someone has found a method to make me do so. Sometimes an attempt is made to distort reality for particular purposes, for purposes that we still do not know, but what is extremely clear to me is the idea that there is an intention behind it," he added. On the other hand, he again repeated that his January 6 visit to a store of Chinese products, also owned by the same businessman, was for a mundane reason, as he went to buy candies, paintings, and other things. The head of state, who on Tuesday had already stated that he does not intend to resign, maintained that the videos broadcast by television programs are a "trap" because they were released progressively and did not show other previous visits by the president to both establishments. "There is an intention to destabilize the country and to break the impartiality of the president in an electoral process. From whom?"
