Retired army general and former politician Daniel Urresti has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Peruvian judge for his role in the murder of journalist Hugo Bustíos in 1988. Urresti, who had previously served as an interior minister, congressman, and presidential candidate, was a military intelligence officer at the time of the killing. He was convicted of being a member of a plainclothes patrol that ambushed Bustíos, who was investigating military abuses against indigenous civilians in Huanta province. Urresti initially was acquitted but was found guilty after a second trial was ordered in 2019. The verdict has been welcomed as a key step in the promotion of press freedom and accountability in Peru. The National Association of Journalists described the decision as both restitution for the family of Bustíos and for journalism. Prosecutors had sought a 25-year jail term, but indicated that they were satisfied with the outcome of the case. Urresti is expected to appeal the decision. The civil war that raged between the Peruvian military and the Shining Path, a communist insurgency group, is estimated to have claimed the lives of around 70,000 people, predominantly in rural areas where the Quechua and Ashaninka languages are spoken.
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