Ex-Peruvian Spy Chief Gets 19 Years In Prison Over Charges In 1992 Farmer Massacre

Former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesino on Wednesday has been sentenced to 19 years and eight months in prison for the 1992 massacre of six farmers in central Peru.

Montesino served as spy chief under former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who was in office from July 1990 to November 2000.

The sentence came after the 78-year-old former intelligence chief - who was already in prison due to his other convictions, pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges related to the 1992 massacre of six farmers who were accused of being members of a rebel group, AP News reported.

These farmers were taken from their homes by soldiers and executed in the town of Pativilca in Peru. In the court, the ex-Peruvian intelligence chief admitted that he was responsible for homicide, murder and forced disappearance.

Before the sentence, the prosecutors said they were looking at a 25-year sentence while the defense was hoping he would get a reduced sentence because Montesinos is willing to cooperate with the Peruvian courts.

Montesinos has been in prison since 2001 as he had been charged with numerous cases of corruption schemes and human rights violations. He had once served as an army officer and lawyer for drug traffickers in the 1980s and later led Peru's intelligence services during the Fujimori administration in the 1990s.

The ex-Peruvian spy chief's court hearing was held after Fujimori's immediate release order was passed by the court in December.

Aside from Fujimori, many other former presidents have been sent to prison as many former leaders have bent the law at some point in their presidential life, especially in Barbadillo jail, a prison for former presidents.

Talking about Peru's economic condition, the National Institute of Statistics and Information noted earlier this month that Peru has closed the year 2023 with an inflation rate of 3.24% -- its lowest rate in the last three years.

Even though the inflation rate has decreased in Peru, the country has been dealing with social unrest for a while now. Peru's President Dina Boluarte declared a state of emergency in September in three districts of the country as the crime rate was increasing.