from the BBC’s Hannah Hennessy :

A Chilean airline promotional video allegedly depicting Lima as a pigsty has sparked a row between Peru and its Latin American neighbour.

Peru’s government says it is suing a unit of the Chilean airliner LAN over the material which it says misrepresents the capital Lima.

This latest spat appears to have revived old grievances.


(on the left, a genuine pigsty. on the right, renowned supermodel Adriana Lima)

Peru will also protest to Santiago over alleged armed sales to Ecuador in the 1990s when the two nations were at war.

The main newspapers in Peru on Saturday expressed their outrage with headlines such as “Protest” and “Chile Must Explain Itself”.

The Peruvian government says it is filing a lawsuit against LAN Peru, which is Peru’s top airline and a unit of the Chilean flag carrier LAN.

It is angry at an in-flight video about Peru which included old images of a man urinating in the street and gutters filled with litter.

Members of congress complained that the video, which was intended to promote adventure tourism, showed Peru as a pigsty.

The airline has apologised and withdrawn the film and three of its senior executives have resigned.

But this was not enough to stop angry Peruvians smashing the windows of one of its offices.