Alberto Fujimori, the former president of Peru who has lived in self-imposed exile in Japan since 2000, made a dramatic return to South America on Sunday, turning up unexpectedly in Chile and vowing to go back to Peru and run for the presidency in April 2006.

Mr Fujimori is wanted in Peru on 21 charges, including human rights abuses, and Interpol has several longstanding warrants for his arrest. However, Maria Elena Gomez, head of the Chilean section of Interpol, said that the Interpol warrants are not valid in Chile.