Daniel Urresti: Peruvian ex-minister complicit in reporter Hugo Bustios' murder
Source: BBC
Daniel Urresti: Peruvian ex-minister complicit in reporter's murder
13 April 2023
By Vanessa Buschschlüter
BBC News
A Peruvian ex-interior minister was complicit in the 1988 killing of Hugo Bustíos, a journalist who investigated human rights abuses, a court has found.
The former minister, Daniel Urresti, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.
The court ruled that Urresti, who at the time was a military intelligence officer in the army, took part in the ambush and murder of Mr Bustíos.
Lawyers for the politician said they would appeal against the verdict.
Hugo Bustíos, a reporter for the weekly magazine Caretas, was killed at the height of the conflict between Peruvian security forces and rebels of the Maoist Shining Path group.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-65261946
Daniel Urresti ran for president twice and was narrowly defeated in his attempt to become mayor of Lima (Getty Images)
= new reply since forum marked as read
On the day of his killing, he was heading to investigate the killing of a villager and her son, reportedly by the Shining Path.
He and a fellow journalist, Eduardo Rojas, were ambushed and shot at while they were making their way to the village by motorcycle.
Mr Bustíos fell to the ground, injured, while Mr Rojas, who had also been hit, managed to escape.
Witnesses said men in plain clothes then placed explosives on Mr Bustíos and detonated them, killing him instantly.
The attack was initially blamed on the Shining Path, but eyewitnesses said it had been carried out by the army.
It would stand to reason to wonder how many of the Peruvian citizens the gov't claimed were killed by the Shining Path were actually murdered by Peruvian government authorities, like this unarmed journalist. Yessir!
Daniel Urresti
Hugo Bustíos
