Leader of 2005 Peru uprising released early from prison
AFP/Reuters/Lima
Antauro Humala, the brother of a former Peruvian president and leader of a failed 2005 uprising, was released early from prison on Saturday, hinting at a return to politics.
The sibling of former president Ollanta Humala and an ex-military officer is the leader of Peru’s Ethnocacerist ethnic nationalist movement that seeks to put the country’s Indigenous peoples in power.
The movement is inspired by the ancient Inca empire, a 19th century war hero, as well as a left-wing general who led a coup in 1968.
Antauro Humala served more than 17 years of a 19-year prison term handed down for the 2005 uprising, which sought to force the resignation of democratically elected president Alejandro Toledo.
He and supporters attacked a police station in the southern Andean city of Andahuaylas, leaving six people dead, including four police officers.
“We all feel very proud of what we did in Andahuaylas,” Antauro Humala said after his release from the Ancon II prison in northern Lima.
A handful of supporters waited outside the facility chanting “President Antauro”.
The 59-year-old has long been a media obsession thanks to his wide-ranging eccentricities.
His lawyer Carmen Huidobro hinted at a return to politics after his release, saying: “It is possible that (Antauro) will resume political life, it is likely that he will run for some office.”
Antauro’s sentence was reduced due to time spent dedicated to work and education, the country’s prison authority announced in a surprise decision on Friday night, under a law that allowed him to deduct one year and seven months.
During the 2021 election campaign, current leftist President Pedro Castillo proposed pardoning Humala, but once in power he never spoke publicly about the issue again.
Antauro and Ollanta Humala, a retired lieutenant-colonel, are longtime political rivals but in 2000 they led a rebellion against president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity committed during his presidency.
Ollanta was president between 2011 and 2016 and repeatedly refused to pardon his brother.
He governed as a centrist, splitting from Antauro’s political positions.
Both Ollanta and Antauro were raised in an upper middle class home in Lima, where their father Ulises pushed them to become political leaders.
Antauro tried to maintain political relevance from prison by making alliances with Peruvian parties.
He still maintains a following and a handful of supporters were waiting outside prison for his release, according to local media.
Leader of failed 2005 Peruvian uprising
released from prison
A former Peruvian military officer who led a failed 2005 uprising has been released from prison, following a surprise announcement that his 19-year sentence had been reduced.
A lawyer for Antauro Humala, the leader of Peru’s Ethnocacerist nationalist movement, which seeks to put the country’s disenfranchised Indigenous peoples in power, quickly hinted at a return to politics upon the release on Saturday.
Speaking to supporters who chanted “President Antauro”, he praised the 2005 uprising, in which he and his supporters attacked a police station in the Andean city of Andahuaylas in an attempt to force the resignation of then-President Alejandro Toledo. Six people, including four police officers, were killed in a days-long standoff at the station.
“Now we are obviously outside and I can tell you that we all feel very proud of what we did in [our rebellion in] Andahuaylas,” said Humala.
Supporters of Antauro Humala, brother of former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, wait outside a prison in Peru for his release [Ernesto Benavides/AFP]
Antauro Humala and his brother, Ollanta Humala, also led a smaller rebellion in 2000 against then-President Alberto Fujimori, who was later convicted of ordering massacres during Peru’s two-decade civil war.
Ollanta Humala went on to become Peru’s president from 2011 to 2016, but governed as a centrist at odds with his brother’s ideology and repeatedly refused to pardon him.
Humala’s Ethnocacerist movement combines obeisance to the ancient Inca empire with an anti-colonial movement, but has been accused of having xenophobic and totalitarian aims.
As a candidate, current left-wing President Pedro Castillo had spoken positively of Humala and raised the possibility of pardoning him but fell silent on the subject after taking office in 2021.
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Peru’s prison authority said Humala had been released one year and seven months early due to his time spent dedicated to work and education. It maintained the decision was made independently from the presidency.
Following his release, Humala’s lawyer, Carmen Huidobro, said “it is possible that [Antauro] will resume political life, it is likely that he will run for some office”.
Speaking to supporters outside the prison in Peru’s capital Lima, Humala asked his supporters for “time to think again of all [that] has happened in these 18 years”.
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