Peru Leader Claims Victory Over Terror in L.A. Speech

In the wake of accusations of corruption in his administration back home, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori on Tuesday made his first visit to Los Angeles, proclaiming that his aggressive campaign against terrorism and political corruption has brought the country to the brink of prosperity.

Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Fujimori said that in the four years since his election, the country has been transformed from a chaotic battlefield on the verge of collapse to a stable and peaceful nation.

“If any of you visited Peru two or more years ago, probably you will not recognize it now,” Fujimori said to a packed Biltmore Hotel audience that included a large contingent of Peruvian-Americans. “We have moved from pessimism and despair to a healthy optimism.”

Fujimori pointed to his success in reducing Peru’s annual inflation rate from 7,659% in 1990 to 60% last year. Efforts to quell the communist Shining Path insurgency have resulted in the capture of virtually all its leaders, he added.

“The Peruvian people are rapidly winning the war against terror,” he said. “I believe that in a little more than a year, the country that was once the most violent in South America will soon become one of the safest countries of the region.”

Fujimori spoke only briefly about his most controversial move--his “self-coup” last year in which he dismissed Peru’s Congress, claiming that he needed to keep the country from collapsing because of corruption, inefficiency and terrorism.

In partnership with a newly elected Congress, the president told the luncheon, he has been able to forge a united and stable democracy.

Despite Fujimori’s upbeat message, he has continued to face accusations of corruption in his country.

Last month, a Peruvian general alleged that army commander Nicolas Hermoza and national security adviser Vladimiro Montesinos were linked to death squads responsible for the disappearances of nine university students and a professor.

The accusations have set back Fujimori’s efforts to show that Peru is returning to democracy.

The United States has froze economic aid to the nation after Fujimori’s April, 1992, self-coup and has hinged future aid on the “quality of democracy” that evolves there.

Fujimori’s approval rating back home swelled to 80% after the self-coup, but has slipped below 60% recently.