Adolfo Olaechea's Blog

Hello. Welcome to My Blog.

My name is Adolfo Olaechea. Before July 2003, I had lived in London for the best part of the last 40 years. However, for the past seven I have practically been a prisoner of the Peruvian State, confined to the limits of the city of Lima after been handed over by the Spanish authorities.

In Peru, I have been put on trial for the supreme crime of being the “Chancellor” of the rebel Shining Path movement. Since the Peruvian state dubs the Shining Path a terrorist organization, the Peruvian press and propaganda machinery has plastered my name all over the world under the eerie nick of “The Chancellor of Terror”.

I have been accused by the highest levels of the Peruvian State of the crime of “terrorism” and “subversion.”

I was incarcerated at the notorious Canto Grande Prison, scene of an infamous 1986 massacre of hundreds of Shining Path prisoners.

I have been personally marked for prosecution by the former President of Peru and his entire entourage of officials, many of whom are now themselves convicted prisoners of the Peruvian Government, jailed for corruption and other crimes of malfeasance.

In contrast, today I am a “free” man.

Since I have always guarded jealously my own independence and freedom, I have always felt compelled to stand for the rights of all peoples to live in freedom, equality, and justice. I will continue to do so and will redouble my efforts on behalf of all those who are persecuted for struggling to build a better life for themselves and those around them.

No doubt my ordeal has served to impoverish me and my loved ones of most of our material comforts, I have learned much during these past seven years. I have met many whose lives and experiences have touched me deeply. I am deeply grateful to them.

I want to tell their story.

And my own.

In the weeks and months ahead, I hope you will visit me on this blog and allow me to share my history, my thoughts, my views on matters of consequence, past and present, and permit me, too, to learn from all of you.

Welcome to my blog!