Peru's Ex-Spymaster Sentenced to Prison

Former Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos, is seen in court on a Navy Base in Callao, Peru on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006, to receive the verdict on charges he masterminded a deal that parachute-dropped 10,000 assault rifles to leftist Colombian guerrillas. Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year sentence for Montesinos and a fine of US$3 million (2.5 million) to be split by the governments of Peru and Colombia. Montesinos, 61, is already serving a 15-year term on about a dozen corruption convictions, which under Peruvian law are served concurrently. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) (Martin Mejia - AP)

CALLAO, Peru -- In a story about the trial of Peru's former spymaster, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a fine levied against Vladimiro Montesinos and several co-defendants would be split between the governments of Peru and Colombia. Instead, the court rejected the prosecutors' recommendation to share the $3.1 million fine, ruling that the evidence did not prove a crime against Colombia's sovereignty, according to Peruvian State Attorney Juan Carlos Portocarrero.

CALLAO, Peru (AP) _ Peru's former spymaster was sentenced to 20 years in prison for engineering a deal that sent 10,000 assault rifles to Colombian guerrillas, the harshest verdict yet against the powerbroker behind ex-President Alberto Fujimori's autocratic regime.

Vladimiro Montesinos, 61, appeared impassive as a tribunal of judges on Thursday declared him guilty _ closing a nearly three-year trial that has heard testimony resembling a spy thriller with gun buys in Jordan and an arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death."

The court also ordered Montesinos and five co-defendants to pay a fine of $3.1 million among them. The court rejected the prosecution's recommendation that half the money be paid to Colombia's government, state attorney Juan Carlos Portocarrero said. Montesinos told the judges he plans to appeal.

Montesinos is already serving a 15-year term on about a dozen corruption convictions, which under Peruvian law are served concurrently. This latest sentence adds five years to his prison time. Counting time served, he is scheduled for release March 17, 2023 _ just before his 78th birthday.

He also faces a possible 35-year sentence in another trial for allegedly directing a paramilitary death squad during the first half of Fujimori's 1990-2000 government. Other trials against him are ongoing or have yet to begin.

Montesinos' conviction Thursday involves a case in which men working for him posed as Peruvian military representatives to purchase Soviet-era assault rifles from Jordan that were delivered in 1999 to the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels.

The plot included a stealth Ukrainian flight crew, a French financier and a Lebanese arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death," the court ruled.

Montesinos _ who during the 1990s gained control of Peru's military, the courts, and most media outlets _ maintained throughout the trial that he had nothing to do with the arms deal and that he was responsible for uncovering the scheme.

Testimony from Montesinos' 18 co-defendants _ most of whom received sentences ranging from six to 15 years _ overwhelmingly fingered him as the leader of the plot.

Montesinos' influence permeated a nation already weakened by chronic corruption _ until Fujimori's regime collapsed in November 2000 amid a bribery scandal involving his spymaster.

The arms scandal came to light three months earlier when Montesinos made a rare public appearance with Fujimori to announce that Peruvian authorities had dismantled a gunrunning ring led by brothers Jose Luis and Luis Frank Aybar, both Peruvian army veterans.