Peru declares three days of national mourning for former President Alberto Fujimori

LIMA, Peru — The Peruvian government on Thursday declared three days of national mourning for the death of former President Alberto Fujimori and granted him a state funeral despite his convictions for human rights violations and corruption.

Fujimori, who ruled the South American country in an increasingly authoritarian manner between 1990 and 2000, died of cancer on Wednesday in a house in the capital Lima. He was released from prison in December after a court granted him a pardon on humanitarian grounds.

His coffin was taken to the Ministry of Culture on Thursday, where it lay in state until Saturday. Riot police and about 50 supporters surrounded the hearse as it drove through the streets of Lima.

Fujimori's daughter Keiko and son Kenji followed the flag-draped coffin as pallbearers carried it into the ministry. The siblings were received by President Dina Boluarte.

The government's decision to honor Fujimori, including ordering all flags on public buildings to be flown at half-staff, was published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

Fujimori, a former university president and mathematics professor, emerged from obscurity to win Peru's 1990 elections against writer Mario Vargas Llosa. He seized power in a country ravaged by rampant inflation and guerrilla violence and overhauled the economy with bold measures, including mass privatization of state industries. He also defeated fanatical communist Shining Path rebels, winning widespread support.

But his political career ended in disgrace. After briefly shutting down Congress and winning a controversial third term, he fled the country in 2000 when leaked video footage showed his intelligence chief bribing lawmakers. He went to Japan, the country of his parents, and faxed his resignation.

In 2009, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for masterminding the murder of 25 Peruvians during the government's crackdown on the Shining Path. The charges against him led to years of legal battles, and he remained a polarizing figure throughout the trial.

After his family announced his death at the age of 86, dozens of his supporters stood outside the house where he died and sang a song praising his government. Among them was businessman César Aquije, who held a sign reading “Thank you, engineer Alberto Fujimori” next to a heart in the colors of the Peruvian flag.

“I remember the schools and roads he built,” said Aquije, 55.

Meanwhile, the sister of one of the 25 people whose deaths are linked to Fujimori criticized him and the government's decision to honor him.

“Fujimori dies, convicted of human rights violations and corruption, and a murderous government like in the 90s pays tribute to him,” Gisela Ortiz posted on X. “Official messages of regret while his crimes go unpunished.”

Boluarte, who became president in December 2022 and has abysmal approval ratings, survived seven attempts by parliament to remove her from office thanks to the protection of a coalition of political groups that includes the party led by Fujimori's children.

Oncologist José Gutiérrez, who treated Fujimori, told reporters the politician had been suffering from tongue cancer that had spread to his lungs after he underwent surgery in July for a hip fracture caused by a fall.

In December, Peru's Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a humanitarian pardon granted to Fujimori by then-President Pablo Kuczynski on Christmas Eve 2017. Fujimori left prison wearing a face mask and oxygen and got into an SUV.

He was last seen in public on September 4, leaving a hospital in a wheelchair. He told reporters that he had undergone a CT scan, and when asked if his planned 2026 presidential run was still on, he smiled and said, “We'll see, we'll see.”

___

Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this report.