MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fujimori to undergo medical procedure under anesthesia

85-year-old Fujimori was seen walking through Lima in good spirits before being admitted to a clinic for a procedure

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has been hospitalized in Lima to undergo surgery for a tongue ailment after being released from the Barbadillo prison in December last year following a Constitutional Court ruling that brought his 16-year stay at the facility to an end. Fujimori was seen walking through the streets of the country's capital in good spirits on the days before his admission at the Delgado Clinic.

The former head of state's daughter and former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori commented on her father's medical condition through a posting on social media and mentioned it could be a “malignant tumor”.

“On behalf of my family, I inform you that last night my father was admitted to the Delgado Clinic to prepare him for a surgical intervention related to his tongue lesion,” Keiko wrote about her father's “Presumptive Ambulatory Diagnosis of a malignant tumor at the base of the tongue with probable right cervical metastasis.”

The procedure will consist of an “examination under general anesthesia and a biopsy in the operating room will be carried out,” it was also explained. The biopsy is expected to help establish the exact nature of this malignancy.

“My father and all of us are confident that ... once again he will recover. We will wait for these results as a family,” Keiko wrote.

“The results of the biopsy will take several days yet,” the physicians also noted.

The octogenarian rightwing leader has also launched a YouTube channel where he reviews his spell at the helm of the country. In last Friday's airing, he denied having transported drugs aboard the presidential plane. The allegations are featured in a judiciary file against him in which his children have been acquitted.

Cocaine was allegedly discovered aboard the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) aircraft in 1996. According to police investigations, around 170 kilos of high-purity cocaine were found hours before takeoff on a “secret” flight supposedly carrying engines and war equipment to Russia for maintenance. Fujimori also asked his followers not to be “poisoned” by his “enemies.” The investigations concluded that technicians, officers, and non-commissioned officers involved were guilty but failed to dig any deeper.