Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres is a Peruvian former intelligence officer who was the long-standing head of Peru's National Intelligence Service (SIN) and was reportedly the de facto leader of Peru while President Alberto Fujimori served as a figurehead leader. Montesinos had strong connections with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for over 25 years and was said to have received $10 million from the agency for his government's anti-terrorist activities, with international bank accounts possessed by Montesinos reportedly holding at least $270 million. The United States reportedly supported the candidacy of Fujimori during the 1990 Peruvian general election due to his links to Montesinos and ignored human rights abuses performed under Montesinos during the 1990s. In 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came to light when they were broadcast on the news. They were secret videos recorded by Montesinos that showed him bribing elected congressmen into leaving the opposition and joining the pro-Fujimori group of the Congress. The ensuing scandal caused Montesinos to flee the country and prompted Fujimori's resignation.

Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto is a Peruvian former politician, professor and engineer who served as President of Peru from 1990 until his removal from office in 2000, though de facto leadership was reportedly held by Vladimiro Montesinos, the then head of the National Intelligence Service. Frequently described as a dictator, he remains a controversial figure in Peruvian politics. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses during his presidency but was released after 16 years on 6 December 2023 following an order by the Constitutional Court of Peru.