Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori passed away at the age of 86 in Lima, following a prolonged battle with cancer. His daughter and political leader, Keiko Fujimori, confirmed the news, stating, “Our father, Alberto Fujimori, has just departed to meet the Lord” in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Hours before his death, Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Fuerza Popular party, reported that Fujimori’s condition was “delicate” and that he was enduring a “difficult time,” according to Xinhua news agency.
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Fujimori served as Peru’s President from 1990 to 2000 and spent a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity in prison before his release last December. During his presidency, he played a crucial role in fighting the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru leftist rebels in Peru’s war on terrorism, which caused over 69,000 deaths and 21,000 disappearances from 1980 to 2000, with most victims being civilians, as documented by a government truth commission.
Fujimori, of Japanese descent, was commonly known as ‘el Chino,’ or ‘the Chinese man,’ in Peru. Following his death, supporters gathered outside his home, chanting, “El Chino did not die! El Chino is present!”
In a notable development last month, Keiko Fujimori announced that her father would run for President again in 2026.
