Defion Internacional
Encyclopedia
Defion Internacional is a Lima
, Peru
based Private Military Company
that recruits and trains security personnel, logistics personnel, administrative personnel and professional services personnel to provide world wide services. It has offices in Dubai
, Philippines
, Sri Lanka
and Iraq
. Their main contracts have been with Triple Canopy, Inc.
and the U.S. Department of State involving the war in Iraq
. They employ static guard forces, logistical and administrative professionals along with English professors for their American contracts.
Defion Internacional came on the personnel services scene by recruiting and training security guards for Triple Canopy contracts, involving the war in Iraq
. These contracts have manned up to 3,000 security guards in the Green Zone
in Baghdad
. Some guards were paid as little as $1000 a month. The security guards were also provided with transportation, housing, food, medical care and life insurance. Triple Canopy no longer uses Defion's personnel services.
Defion does not solely contract for security guard services. The company also hires personnel for work outside of the security industry such as food services personnel, English instructors, insurance agents, professional medical services to name a few. A client needing to fill a requirement in another country usually depends on Defion's far reaching services found in all of Central and South America, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Dubai UAE and Iraq.
Contracts before these with the U.S. involving traveling to the sites had been reviewed and publicised by the media at the time and the Peruvian travelers were being advised by Ministry of Foreign Affairs
specialists. There have not been any complaints from the Peruvian government or the workers. The media in Peru interviewed security guards returning from Iraq and the security guards reported being pleased with the work and the majority have returned to work for their third year.
Juan Manuel Duran says that the security guards work in the Green Zone
, and at the time of the reports, the bombings and attacks had occurred outside of that area; accordingly, none of the hired Peruvians were affected.
The Andean Commission of Jurists director, Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, says that the contracts are illegal due to United States' laws, and that the Geneva Convention prohibits the hiring of people to involve them in foreign conflict. However, this claim was refuted by constitutional lawyers in a subsequent a Congressional investigation.
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
based Private Military Company
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
that recruits and trains security personnel, logistics personnel, administrative personnel and professional services personnel to provide world wide services. It has offices in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Their main contracts have been with Triple Canopy, Inc.
Triple Canopy, Inc.
Triple Canopy, Inc., is a private company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and non-profit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by U.S. Army Special Forces veterans, including former Delta Force personnel...
and the U.S. Department of State involving the war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. They employ static guard forces, logistical and administrative professionals along with English professors for their American contracts.
Contracts
Defion Internacional recruits, vetts and trains (when needed) personnel on a global level for different companies.Defion Internacional came on the personnel services scene by recruiting and training security guards for Triple Canopy contracts, involving the war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. These contracts have manned up to 3,000 security guards in the Green Zone
Green Zone
The Green Zone is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It is a area of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city...
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Some guards were paid as little as $1000 a month. The security guards were also provided with transportation, housing, food, medical care and life insurance. Triple Canopy no longer uses Defion's personnel services.
Defion does not solely contract for security guard services. The company also hires personnel for work outside of the security industry such as food services personnel, English instructors, insurance agents, professional medical services to name a few. A client needing to fill a requirement in another country usually depends on Defion's far reaching services found in all of Central and South America, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Dubai UAE and Iraq.
Investigations
The Secretary of Foreign Relations in Peru, Ambassador Jorge Lazaro, met with Defion President/CEO Mr.Juan Manuel Duran and Vice President M. Villacruces, two of Defion Internacional's representatives, to investigate. The Ambassador says that there are loop holes in the Peruvian laws which allows their citizens to work abroad as security guards in a conflict zone. A United Nations working group also visited Peru and interviewed Mr. Duran.Contracts before these with the U.S. involving traveling to the sites had been reviewed and publicised by the media at the time and the Peruvian travelers were being advised by Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
specialists. There have not been any complaints from the Peruvian government or the workers. The media in Peru interviewed security guards returning from Iraq and the security guards reported being pleased with the work and the majority have returned to work for their third year.
Juan Manuel Duran says that the security guards work in the Green Zone
Green Zone
The Green Zone is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It is a area of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city...
, and at the time of the reports, the bombings and attacks had occurred outside of that area; accordingly, none of the hired Peruvians were affected.
The Andean Commission of Jurists director, Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, says that the contracts are illegal due to United States' laws, and that the Geneva Convention prohibits the hiring of people to involve them in foreign conflict. However, this claim was refuted by constitutional lawyers in a subsequent a Congressional investigation.