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JUNE 25, 2001

Venezuelan authorities on Sunday captured Vladimiro Montesinos, Peru's former intelligence chief who has been in hiding for eight months.

Montesinos fled Peru amidst a political scandal in which more than 2,400 videotapes were uncovered showing him and others in uncompromising situations. And in what many saw as a national farce, ousted President Alberto Fujimori -- accompanied by former First Lady Keiko Sophia, a graduate of Boston University -- launched a televised manhunt through the streets of Lima.

Montesinos is reported to have undergone plastic surgery in Venezeula. FBI agents helped track him down. He is awaiting return to Peru, where he faces charges of gun running, money laundering and collaborating with drug traffickers.

The scandals led Fujimori to flee the country as well. He now lives in Japan.

Get the Story:
Peruvian Ex-Spy Chief Is Seized in Venezuela (The Washington Post 6/25)
Former Spy Chief of Peru Captured in Venezuela Hideout (The New York Times 6/25)