LIMA, Peru (AP) - Defence Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld, on a brief swing through Latin America, is seeking observations from countries friendly to the United States about the influence of Cuba and Venezuela in the region.

The Pentagon chief was meeting with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and the country's new defence minister yesterday, just days after Toledo swore in a fresh Cabinet.

Rumsfeld, who visited Paraguay before coming to Peru, is urging Latin American countries to work together to stem "anti-social, destabilising behaviour" that threatens the Western Hemisphere's security.

The defence secretary's three-day trip, his third to Latin America in just 10 months, is part of an effort to strengthen US ties with Latin American countries.

Under the Peruvian constitution, Toledo had been forced to ask all 16 of his ministers to step down when Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero, the Cabinet chief, resigned to protest the president's appointment of an unpopular ally as foreign minister.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS