Ex-Peruvian President Garcia Arrives in Colombia for Asylum
Former Peruvian President Alan Garcia arrived in Bogota on Tuesday aboard a Colombian air force plane after Colombia granted him political asylum.
The Colombian government announced Monday that it was granting Garcia diplomatic asylum after he took refuge Sunday in a Colombian Embassy building in Lima.
Garcia, 43, an outspoken opponent of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, thanked the Colombian government and people for granting him asylum.
“As a Latin American democrat, I confirm that I am going to go on fighting against the dictatorship which exists in Peru,” Garcia said in a statement upon arrival.
Garcia, president of Peru from 1985 to 1990, had lived in hiding in Peru since Fujimori suspended Congress and temporarily closed the courts on April 5.
Garcia, who has condemned Fujimori’s move, faces charges of illegal arms possession after security forces said they found guns and ammunition in his house.
Garcia said his life had at times been threatened in Peru. He said he had decided to seek political asylum in Colombia because it was impossible for him to have direct contact with his party and the people in Peru.
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