Peru’s Former President Alberto Fujimori Dies at 86

Peru's jailed, former President Alberto Fujimori, photographed through a glass window, attends his trial at a police base on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on June 28, 2016. Martin Mejia/AP Photo

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who governed the nation from 1990 to 2000, passed away in Lima on Sept. 11 at the age of 86, following a lengthy battle with cancer, his family said in a Sept. 11 statement.

Fujimori had a multitude of health issues, including stomach ulcers, hypertension, and tongue cancer. In May, the former leader said he had been diagnosed with a new malignant tumor.

“After a long battle with cancer, our father, Alberto Fujimori, has just departed to meet the Lord,” his daughter, Keiko Fujimori, said in a statement on social media platform X. “We ask those who loved him to accompany us with a prayer for the eternal rest of his soul.”

Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, was relatively unknown when he was elected to office in 1990 at a time of economic instability.

The former university president and mathematics professor set about reviving the economy, curbing hyperinflation, and tackling drug trafficking.

He privatized dozens of state-run companies and slashed trade tariffs, and, for a while, Peru became one of Latin America’s most stable economies.

Under his watch, Abimael Guzman, leader of the Maoist Sendero Luminoso, also known as Shining Path—designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State—was captured and convicted of terrorism. It dealt a blow to a movement that had in the 1980s appeared close to toppling the Peruvian state.

Guzman died in prison in September 2021.

In 1992, Fujimori briefly shut down Congress and the courts, accusing them of stalling his efforts to defeat the Shining Path, implement tough anti-terrorism laws, and push free-market economic reforms.

Fujimori then assumed all legislative and judicial powers.

Fujimori Imprisoned Over Human Rights Violations

The former leader also faced corruption scandals during his 10-year tenure. Shortly after winning a third election in 2000, videos emerged showing his top intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, allegedly handing out cash to bribe lawmakers and media executives.

Fujimori, a dual citizen of Peru and Japan, fled into exile in Tokyo after the footage emerged. He resigned shortly after and unsuccessfully campaigned for a Japanese senatorial seat.

Montesinos was later captured in Venezuela and jailed.

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori waves to supporters at the Government Palace in Lima, on July 28, 1990. Alejandro Balaguer/AP Photo

In 2005, after five years of exile in Japan, Fujimori was detained after flying to Chile.

He was extradited to Peru in 2007. In 2009, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights violations when a court held him legally responsible for the killing of 25 people by army death squads in 1991 and 1992.

Although Fujimori was not found to have personally ordered the killings, he was deemed responsible because the crimes were committed in his government’s name.

Fujimori was granted a presidential pardon by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2017, but the pardon was reversed by Peru’s Supreme Court in October 2018.

Peru’s Constitutional Court later reinstated the pardon, and he was released from Lima’s Barbadillo Prison in December 2023 on humanitarian grounds, having served more than 15 years of a 25-year prison sentence.

Former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori leaves Barbadillo Prison after being released in Lima, Peru, on Dec. 6, 2023. Mariana Bazo/Getty Images

He is survived by his four children. Fujimori’s oldest child, Keiko, served as first lady in 1996 and unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in 2011, 2016, and 2021.

Fujimori’s youngest child, Kenji, was elected to Congress in 2011 before being suspended in 2018 amid corruption allegations.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.