Former Peruvian Interior Minister Daniel Urresti has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of a journalist nearly 35 years ago.
The former general was involved in the assassination of Hugo Bustíos in 1988, a court ruled during the night. The 66-year-old was arrested after the verdict was announced. His defense attorney said he would appeal.
Bustíos was shot by soldiers in the Ayacucho region and then killed with an explosive device. During the armed conflict between the left-wing guerrilla organization Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and the state security forces, Urresti was responsible for military intelligence work and counterintelligence in the region. He stated that he did not know that Bustíos was working as a journalist.
Urresti served as Interior Minister during Ollanta Humala’s government from 2014 to 2015. He was a presidential candidate in 2016 and 2021 and a congressman from 2020 to 2021.
