Peru Expert and Former Peruvian Marine to Speak at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Jorge Ortiz Sotelo, a historian from Peru and former Peruvian marine, will give a talk as a guest of The University of Alabama department of history and the Latin American Studies Program. The talk will be in the Summersell Room (room 251) of ten Hoor Hall on the UA campus at 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23.

Ortiz is the executive director of the think tank Instituto Peruano de Economia y Poltica, a professor at Peruvian Naval War College and general secretary of Thalassa, the association of marine and naval Latin American history. An author of more than 12 books, he is not only a historian but also a former Peruvian naval officer and marine who saw service in the 1980s in eliminating the internal Peruvian insurrection led by the Shining Path terrorist movement.

The talk, free and open to the public, comes in the wake of Peru President Alan Garcia’s visit last week to Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush.

The UA history department and the Latin American Studies Program are part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.

Note to Editors: Dr. Jorge Ortiz Sotelo will be available for interview at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23 (following the lecture) in 205 Gorgas Library.