-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Spy vs. Spy Peruvian Spymaster Vanishes Rasputin, rumors, and the file on Fujimori THE shadowy spy chief at the centre of Peru's political crisis has disappeared from sight. Some reports say that Vladimiro Montesinos has been arrested and others that he is busy destroying incriminating evidence. A corruption scandal involving Mr Montesinos prompted the surprise announcement from President Alberto Fujimori at the weekend that he would call early elections and would not stand in them. The move followed the release of a videotape showing Mr Montesinos, the head of the National Intelligence Service (SIN), apparently bribing a congressman. The 54-year-old spy chief, who has been called Peru's Rasputin, has retreated to the SIN headquarters. Some sources say he is under arrest in the building pending the outcome of investigations of corruption charges. But others say he is destroying incriminating files and tapes. Last night reports by independent media said he had been arrested on the orders of a close associate of his, Gen Jose Villa Riestra, the armed forces commander. The reports said he was being held at an air force base, where the SIN has its headquarters, and that his sister Ana had applied to a court for him to be released. The spy chief has spent years building up personnel files on Peruvian figures, and is said to have 2,500 videos of compromising situations which he has used to blackmail people into supporting the regime. There is also rumoured to be a thick file on Mr Fujimori. Mystery still shrouds the reasons for the president's decision, only a few months after he manipulated the system to win a third term in power. He has yet to set a date for new elections. A column in Peru's respected daily newspaper El Comercio suggested that he had tried to sack his powerful spymaster, but that Mr Montesinos had refused to go and had called upon elements in the military to support him, leaving the president no choice but to go. Other theories include the claim that the opposition politicians who released the incriminating video have more of them, and that there may be evidence implicating Mr Fujimori in corruption. Peru's leading opposition figure returned home from Washington yesterday to be mobbed by hundreds of supporters. "There are great reasons to celebrate. This is a gigantic step toward the recovery of democracy and liberty," Alejandro Toledo, 54, a shoe-shine boy turned World Bank economist, told the cheering crowd at Lima airport. Mr Toledo, who is favourite to succeed Mr Fujimori, pulled out midway through the last presidential election, saying conditions for a fair contest did not exist. America has welcomed Mr Fujimori's decision. Joe Lockhart, the White House spokesman, said: "We call on all parties involved in Peruvian society to work toward a peaceful transition and a democratic election." The London Telegraph, September 19, 2000 Ä)>Ë ´
