Quick Facts
Biography
Virginia "Vicky" Peláez Ocampo (born 1956 in Cuzco, Peru) is a Peruvian journalist and columnist, currently for The Moscow News newspaper. She is known for pleading guilty on 8 July 2010 for working in the United States as an unregistered foreign agent for Russia. She is also known for her leftist writings in El Diario La Prensa, a New York City Spanish language newspaper. Prior to working in the United States, Peláez was one of the first female television reporters in Peru where she reported for Frecuencia Latina.
Career
As a reporter in the 1980s, Peláez gained a reputation as an independent and credible journalist and often placed herself in the stories she was covering. The Peruvian magazine Teleguia called her "the most aggressive journalist on TV."
In 1984, Peláez and her cameraman Percy Raborg were kidnapped by the Peruvian rebel group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). MRTA demanded Frecuencia Latina air a propaganda video in exchange for the release of Peláez and Raborg. The station agreed to air the video and Peláez and Raborg were released hours after airing. Raborg has since claimed that Peláez was a willing participant in the kidnapping.
After moving to the United States, she worked for El Diario La Prensa for more than two decades. Her writings have been critical of United States foreign policy and supportive of Latin American leaders Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.
Illegals Program
In June 2010, Peláez, along with her husband Mikhail Anatolyevich Vasenkov (Михаил Анатольевич Васенков, alias Juan Lazaro) and nine others, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General. The operations of this group was dubbed by American authorities as the "Illegals Program" directed by Russia. Waldo Mariscal, the eldest son of Peláez, claimed the U.S. government was persecuting his parents for their political views.
On 8 July 2010, Peláez pleaded guilty to working in the United States as an unregistered foreign agent for Russia, and agreed to be deported and never return, in exchange for the U.S. dropping the more serious charge of money laundering and waiving any jail time. According to one of her lawyers, Peláez's United States citizenship has been "revoked".
According to her lawyer, Peláez was placed in a Moscow apartment provided by Russian authorities. She turned down a US$2000 per month offer from the Russian government and was reportedly planning to return to Peru. Her husband's lawyer stated that Vasenkov wanted to leave Moscow for Peru: "He says he's Juan Lazaro and he's not from Russia and doesn't speak Russian. He wants to be where his wife is going, to her native country, where it will be easier for Juan Jr. to visit. His family comes first."
Afterwards
On 19 February 2011, it was reported Vicky Peláez returned to Peru to attend her father's burial; she was not accompanied by Vasenkov. Since August 2011, Peláez has been a contributor to The Moscow News.