The US government has accepted the legitimacy of the controversial re-election of President Alberto Fujimori of Peru last weekend, despite evidence of numerous irregularities throughout the electoral process.
"I believe it is the position of our government to respect the decisions of national authorities, and our expectation is that the President will be sworn in on July 28th," said Mr John Hamilton, US ambassador to Peru.
President Fujimori was re-elected for a third five-year term after his rival, Mr Alejandro Toledo, pulled out of the race alleging widespread fraud.
The US government first described the May 28th elections as "illegitimate", then quickly backtracked to "seriously defective", and finally endorsed Mr Fujimori, a strategic ally in the Andean region, where social upheaval threatens US business interests.
The turnaround in US policy dampened opposition plans to block Mr Fujimori's July inauguration. The latest polls indicate that Peruvians now see Mr Fujimori's third mandate as inevitable.
However, Mr Toledo, who has addressed huge rallies across the country, is building up momentum for one final march on Lima two days before Mr Fujimori's inauguration. He is hoping several million people will gather outside the presidential palace and physically prevent the President from beginning his third term.
Mr Toledo also travelled to Europe and sent delegates to the US, lobbying governments for action against Mr Fujimori, but his appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
Meanwhile President Fujimori moved swiftly to consolidate his victory, beginning with the nation's armed forces, who publicly declared their support for his re-election.
Peru's National Electoral Council (JNE) formally acknowledged Mr Fujimori's election victory earlier this month, giving Mr Fujimori the institutional recognition required to challenge his international critics.
Mr Fujimori scored a significant victory at the annual assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in mid-June, where Latin American governments rejected a call for sanctions against him, voting instead to send a further OAS mission, which will arrive in Lima later this week.
The final hurdle lies within Peru's Congress, where Mr Fujimori's Peru 2000 coalition won 52 out of 120 seats, nine short of the absolute majority required to ratify the new President.
Several opposition deputies have publicly denounced efforts to buy their parliamentary vote, with offers of $10,000 per month if they approve Mr Fujimori's third term.