Right - time to come back to this! Writing (decent) updates is a pain, sorry. Hopefully some more readers will flock to the AAR now. In the end, I took another course of action - likely for the worse, but maybe it was the only option.
So, let's conclude this war.
---
After the Peruvians in Iquitos have been eradicated, the Venezuelans have reorganised, high on morale, knowing that they can now likely take Lima. Or can they? In the next month, the Army prepared for an assault on Lima, and then attacked - only to find Peru wasn't out yet. In fact, Lima was still defended hard enough to be unbreakable, thanks to the mountaineer division holding the positions in the Andes, heavily dug in. Wave upon wave of attacks would be unleashed upon the capital, and be repelled.
So what would Contreras do? He had a crazy plan. During the war, he had already ordered the construction of transports, only him knowing the reasons - but they could come in handy at this point as well... Two mountain divisions, led by Lt. Gen. Angarita and Mj. Gen. Toro Key respectively (the latter being a very experienced commando leader by now) embarked upon Venezuela's two transports, taking care to avoid the Peruvian destroyers as they arrived at the beaches of Arequipa.
Although mountaineers are primarily trained for mountain combat, they also receive some training in crossing shallow bodies of water - mostly rivers. And really, an amphibious assault is not much different. Some low hills dotted the coastline, just ideal for mountaineers. The defending infantry division had no chance.
Attacking from two sides seems to have made the difference as the defenders of Lima crumbled under the assault from two sides. The attackers, formerly occupying Trujillo, immediately rushed forward to take Lima. And that's when disaster struck... unfortunately, due to the complete lack of a Venezuelan convoy systems, the mountain troops were soon out of supply. And when Peru's military intelligence realised this, it acted quickly. The Peruvian destroyers attacked the transports on the coast, who were patrolling there to make sure Angarita's and Toro Key's soldiers could escape if need be. Unfortunately, they had to escape instead. At the same time, Peru's reserve divisions counterattacked into Arequipa. The mountaineers defended bravely, but were captured - only Angarita, Toro Key and about a hundred men managed to escape towards Lima. And luckily for them, as Lima fell the Peruvian government also saw the futility of further resistance - once again, poor enemy communication systems saved the day for Venezuela as the former President didn't know about Peru's victory when signing the treaty of unconditional surrender.
All the better for Venezuela, of course...
February 3, 1939
The general staff was called together again the day after Peru surrendered. It was time. Through his domestic intelligence, Contreras now knew where their ministers' loyalty lay - by him, of course. Even Isaías Medina Angarita, Contreras' most feared nemesis seemed to be in order - and that was all the President needed.
"Gentlemen!" he began. "Let's not kid ourselves. The last three wars were more than just self-defense. By conquering Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Venezuela has drastically increased in size and is now a power in its own right. We would be fools not to capitalise on it. La Gran Venezuela shall rule over the northern part of Venezuela!" Pausing a little to let this sink in with his ministers - some of who didn't hear this as a surprise, but most of them did, he continued: "I'm sure you have several thoughts in your head now. That I promised to turn Venezuela into a peaceful, democratic nation. But we would be fools to try that. Brazil and Argentina, the two giants of South America, are definitely plotting to take over as much of the continent as possible. Colombia's, Ecuador's and Peru's fate was inevitable. It's eat or be eaten, and I don't intend to be eaten. You will see gentlemen, our country has potential. And I just know what to do to exploit it to its fullest."
Contreras, President of La Gran Venezuela, stopped again. He examined the members of his cabinet, gauging their reactions - the smiling Urich, Escalante nodding in approval, Angarita's expressionless face, Ayala's "Oh, I get it now"-look and the rest of them. And he was pleased.
So, let's conclude this war.
---
After the Peruvians in Iquitos have been eradicated, the Venezuelans have reorganised, high on morale, knowing that they can now likely take Lima. Or can they? In the next month, the Army prepared for an assault on Lima, and then attacked - only to find Peru wasn't out yet. In fact, Lima was still defended hard enough to be unbreakable, thanks to the mountaineer division holding the positions in the Andes, heavily dug in. Wave upon wave of attacks would be unleashed upon the capital, and be repelled.
So what would Contreras do? He had a crazy plan. During the war, he had already ordered the construction of transports, only him knowing the reasons - but they could come in handy at this point as well... Two mountain divisions, led by Lt. Gen. Angarita and Mj. Gen. Toro Key respectively (the latter being a very experienced commando leader by now) embarked upon Venezuela's two transports, taking care to avoid the Peruvian destroyers as they arrived at the beaches of Arequipa.

Although mountaineers are primarily trained for mountain combat, they also receive some training in crossing shallow bodies of water - mostly rivers. And really, an amphibious assault is not much different. Some low hills dotted the coastline, just ideal for mountaineers. The defending infantry division had no chance.
Attacking from two sides seems to have made the difference as the defenders of Lima crumbled under the assault from two sides. The attackers, formerly occupying Trujillo, immediately rushed forward to take Lima. And that's when disaster struck... unfortunately, due to the complete lack of a Venezuelan convoy systems, the mountain troops were soon out of supply. And when Peru's military intelligence realised this, it acted quickly. The Peruvian destroyers attacked the transports on the coast, who were patrolling there to make sure Angarita's and Toro Key's soldiers could escape if need be. Unfortunately, they had to escape instead. At the same time, Peru's reserve divisions counterattacked into Arequipa. The mountaineers defended bravely, but were captured - only Angarita, Toro Key and about a hundred men managed to escape towards Lima. And luckily for them, as Lima fell the Peruvian government also saw the futility of further resistance - once again, poor enemy communication systems saved the day for Venezuela as the former President didn't know about Peru's victory when signing the treaty of unconditional surrender.
All the better for Venezuela, of course...

February 3, 1939
The general staff was called together again the day after Peru surrendered. It was time. Through his domestic intelligence, Contreras now knew where their ministers' loyalty lay - by him, of course. Even Isaías Medina Angarita, Contreras' most feared nemesis seemed to be in order - and that was all the President needed.
"Gentlemen!" he began. "Let's not kid ourselves. The last three wars were more than just self-defense. By conquering Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Venezuela has drastically increased in size and is now a power in its own right. We would be fools not to capitalise on it. La Gran Venezuela shall rule over the northern part of Venezuela!" Pausing a little to let this sink in with his ministers - some of who didn't hear this as a surprise, but most of them did, he continued: "I'm sure you have several thoughts in your head now. That I promised to turn Venezuela into a peaceful, democratic nation. But we would be fools to try that. Brazil and Argentina, the two giants of South America, are definitely plotting to take over as much of the continent as possible. Colombia's, Ecuador's and Peru's fate was inevitable. It's eat or be eaten, and I don't intend to be eaten. You will see gentlemen, our country has potential. And I just know what to do to exploit it to its fullest."
Contreras, President of La Gran Venezuela, stopped again. He examined the members of his cabinet, gauging their reactions - the smiling Urich, Escalante nodding in approval, Angarita's expressionless face, Ayala's "Oh, I get it now"-look and the rest of them. And he was pleased.