Alberto Fujimori, former Peruvian president, dies at 86

At the age of 86, after a long battle with cancer, Alberto Fujimori, the controversial former president of Peru, passed away. His daughter, Keiko Fujimori, shared the news of his death on social media.

Just a year before his death, Fujimori was pardoned after spending many years in prison for corruption and involvement in massacres.

Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, elicited extreme reactions from the public. His rule was marked by a neoliberal approach to the economy, credited with combating inflation. However, his actions against the Maoist paramilitary organization Shining Path, using so-called death squads, remain controversial. His government also conducted a poverty alleviation campaign, during which, according to human rights defenders, thousands of Indigenous women were forcibly sterilized.

In 2009, for the abduction of opposition members and massacres at La Cantuta University and the Barrios Altos district, Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison, making him the first former president in history to be tried and convicted for human rights violations. Fujimori did not admit guilt, claiming the trial was politically motivated.

The pardon of Fujimori in December 2017 by the then-president of Peru sparked widespread protests and initiated a lengthy judicial process. Ultimately, in December 2023, the Constitutional Court confirmed the decision to pardon and release him from prison.

"After a long battle with cancer, our father, Alberto Fujimori, has just departed to meet the Lord," wrote Keiko Fujimori, referring to her father's last moments. Fujimori left behind unpaid debts estimated at 19 million US dollars, including unpaid financial penalties imposed by the court in several cases.

In July of this year, Keiko Fujimori announced that her father intended to return to politics and run for the presidency in the 2026 elections.