An ex-adviser to the former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori said that he would not accept the decision of Colombia’s prosecution to bring him to trial for participating in a contraband operation with the FARC.
In a virtual audience from a Peruvian military naval base, the ex-adviser of Peru Vladimir Montesinos rejected the decision of Colombia’s prosecution and told the judge that he had already been sentenced in his home country for the same acts currently being questioned of trafficking an alleged 50,000 arms for Colombia’s largest guerrilla group FARC.
According to newscast CM&, Montesinos was formally accused by the Colombian prosecution along with 57 other people in Villavicencio, the capital of the central Meta department. The others accused include a plethora of nationalities that are all being charged with crimes of trafficking, manufacturing or possession of arms for the exclusive use of military forces, as well as for crimes of conspiracy.
The charges are in relation to a contraband arms operation for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), that was allegedly coordinated by Montesinos in 1999.
At the time of the operation, Montesinos was the security adviser for the then Peruvian president of his country, Alberto Fujimori, who is considered the Peru’s most controversial former president, who from 1990 to 2000 led successful campaigns against terrorism and economic instability but whose legacy was ultimately tainted by corruption and human rights scandals.
In the case of the ex-adviser, Montesinos, a former military member and lawyer, has been sentenced to between nine and 15 years for crimes such as corruption, influence peddling, illicit association and trafficking of arms.
According to investigators, Montesinos told prosecution that he wished “to be represented by Colombian lawyers” because of his lack of knowledge of Colombian legislation.
However, he maintains rejection of the intervention because he was allegedly sentenced by the Supreme Court of Lima to 20 years of prison for the exact same case.
The Colombian case was suspended “until further notice” by the judge while they wait for Peruvian authorities to send copies of the charges.
