Witness: Peruvian prez assassination target in 1992

Peruvian president Alan Garcia was ordered to be assassinated during a 1992 self-coup by then- leader Alberto Fujimori, according to testimony during Fujimori’s trial. Prime Minister Jorge Del Castillo took the stand today, and told that Garcia and he were targets of the army on the night of April 5, 1992:

Del Castillo revealed that Garcia told him years after the coup that “a close person informed him that he was the target of an assassination plot.”

“I am convinced that the (army) group which entered my house did so in order to physically eliminate Garcia” claimed Del Castillo who added that he received “information” from Susana Higuchi. [ed. Higuchi is the now-divorced wife of Fujimori.]

“That’s the information I received; she warned us of the threat via a liaison.” – [ed. Personal translation]

Del Castillo was secretly detained for five days after the autogolpe while Garcia fled to Colombia.

Fujimori is on trial for human rights abuses during his decade of rule and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted.

Image- BBC News

Sources (English)- Associated Press, Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- La Republica, El Diario/La Prensa, El Expreso