Ex-Peruvian Spy Chief Pleads Guilty To Charges In 1992 Farmer Massacre

Ex-Peruvian intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who worked under former President Alberto Fujimori, pleaded guilty to charges related to the 1992 massacre of six farmers who were accused of being members of a rebel group.

These farmers were taken from their homes by soldiers and executed in the town of Pativilca in Peru.

The 78-year-old former intelligence chief pleaded guilty to charges of homicide, murder and forced disappearance. Prosecutors are looking at a 25-year sentence for him, but the defense is hoping to reduce his sentence as Montesinos is willing to cooperate with the Peruvian courts, AP News reported.

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.

Montesinos' court hearing came after the court announced Fujimori's immediate release last month. Peru's constitutional court had ordered the "immediate release" of 85-year-old Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year-old sentence for the death of 25 Peruvians and corruption during his administration in the 1990s.

Fujimori wasn't the only former president who was held in Barbadillo jail. The special prison for former presidents is already full, as many former leaders have bent the law at some point in their presidential life.

This special jail was said to be made for VIPs, as Peru's standard prisons were overcrowded and often witnessed violence. Hence, a part of the police compound was turned into three custom-built cells that are like VIP prisons, looking like small apartment units.

Besides Peru, countries like South Korea, France, and Brazil have also jailed former presidents. However, Peru currently has the highest number of former presidents in jail compared to other countries worldwide.