ANTAURO Humala, the brother of a former Peruvian president and leader of a failed 2005 uprising, was released early from prison today, 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.  

He 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 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.”

His 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 allows him to deduct one year and seven months. 

During the election campaign last year, current leftist President Pedro Castillo proposed pardoning Antauro, but once in power, he never spoke publicly about the matter again.

Antauro and Ollanta, a retired lieutenant colonel, are long-time 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. – AFP, August 21, 2022.