Peru’s divisive ex-president, jailed for human rights abuses, dies aged 86

Fujimori’s decade as president was marked by sieges, massacres and escapades. He ultimately ended up in jail

Peru’s former president Alberto Fujimori, who spent 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, died on Wednesday at the age of 86 in Lima.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, his children Keiko, Hiro, Sachie and Kenji Fujimori wrote: “After a long battle with cancer, our father, Alberto Fujimori, has just departed to meet the Lord.
“We ask those who loved him to join us in praying for the eternal rest of his soul. Thank you for so much, Dad.”
Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, was released from prison on humanitarian grounds in December, two-thirds of the way through a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity during his rule.
Sources close to his family told AFP earlier on Wednesday that his health had deteriorated rapidly after completing treatment for mouth cancer in August.
Just a month earlier, his daughter Keiko had announced that he would run for president again in 2026.
Fujimori, who was of Japanese heritage, was sent to prison in 2009 over massacres committed by army death squads in 1991 and 1992 in which 25 people, including a child, were killed in supposed anti-terrorist operations.
Fujimori was loved by many for crushing the notorious left-wing Shining Path rebels, but hated by others for the ruthless, authoritarian way he governed.
Born in Lima on July 28, 1938, Fujimori was an agricultural engineer by training, then worked as a university lecturer in mathematics.
He studied in France and the United States, eventually earning a Master’s degree in mathematics.
Upon his return to Lima, he took a high-level post at his former university, before embarking on his unlikely career in politics.
In 1990, he defeated writer Mario Vargas Llosa to win the presidency – a surprise result.
One of the most dramatic episodes of Fujimori’s time in power was a four-month hostage ordeal at the Japanese embassy in Lima, which began in December 1996.
Commandos ended up raiding the embassy, saving nearly all the VIPs held by Tupac Amaru guerrillas and killing the 14 hostage-takers. That strengthened Fujimori’s reputation for fighting terrorism with a firm hand.
At the same time, he won popular support for boosting the economy of the South American country, a major mineral exporter.
His neo-liberal economic policies won him the support of the ruling class and international financial institutions.
Fujimori’s downfall began in 2000 after Montesinos was exposed for corruption. The president fled to Japan and sent a fax announcing his resignation.
Congress voted to sack him instead and ban him from public office for 10 years. He was eventually arrested when he set foot in Chile and extradited back to Peru for trial.
Fujimori was also found guilty of crimes against humanity for two massacres carried out by army death squads.
While in jail, Fujimori was in and out of the hospital with heart, back and stomach trouble. He had several operations to remove cancerous growths from his tongue.
In December 2017, then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori due to his ill health.
But the Supreme Court later annulled the pardon and in January 2019, he was returned to jail from hospital.