A Peruvian police aircraft carrying the 69-year-old former ruler departed just before 9 a.m. EDT from the Santiago airport for the 4 1/2-hour flight to Lima, the Peruvian capital, with at least one refueling stopover.
A blue-and-white Chilean police helicopter had flown Fujimori to the airport from the suburban residence where he remained for months under house arrest awaiting the court ruling on his extradition trial.
The Supreme Court ruled that Fujimori should be extradited on two rights and five corruption charges. The rights abuse charges include sanctioning the death-squad killings of 25 people.
Chilean police officers formally transferred control over Fujimori to their Peruvian counterparts inside a vehicle at the airport tarmac. Fujimori was examined by a Peruvian doctor before boarding the aircraft, officials said.
Fujimori, who calls the charges politically motivated, said in comments to local media on the eve of his departure that while his government made mistakes, his conscience is clear.
"This does not mean that I've been tried, much less convicted. ... I hope that in Peru there exists the due process to clarify the accusations against me," he told the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio.
He said that while the Supreme Court authorized his extradition, it significantly reduced the number of charges for which he can be tried in Peru. According to the extradition treaty between Chile and Peru, he can only be tried for the charges for which the extradition was approved.
That, Fujimori told TV Channel 13, gave him "a legal armor" to face trial in Peru.
And he suggested politics is still in his future.
"I still have a majority support from of a very popular political current. Fujimorismo is alive and now it must have more adrenaline," he said
"I assure you that there will be a political heir if I am not longer around," he added. "There will Fujimorismo for a long time. I guarantee that there will be some Fujimori in the next presidential race."
