SANTIAGO, Chile — Fugitive former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori defied an international arrest warrant Sunday and flew to Chile, saying he intends to return to Peru and again seek its top office.
Peru immediately requested that Fujimori, who fled to Japan in 2000, be arrested, but the Chilean government said that could not happen without an order from a Chilean judge.
"He can only be arrested if a legal warrant exists, and such a warrant can only be issued by a court that is requested to do so," government spokesman Osvaldo Puccio said. "That request is being made now by the foreign ministry, based on the note from Peru."
Peru's ambassador asked that Fujimori be arrested while the government prepares a formal extradition request.
"I have delivered to the Chilean government a formal request that this fugitive from the Peruvian justice be arrested with the purpose of his later extradition," Peruvian Ambassador Jose Antonio Meier said after delivering the note to Chilean authorities.
Fujimori faces 21 charges in Peru stemming from alleged corruption and his alleged support of a paramilitary death squad.
Months ago, Peru asked Interpol to arrest the former leader should he travel, but Mariela Gomez, the head of the Chilean section of the international police agency, has said that several arrest warrants against Fujimori are not valid in Chile.
Fujimori fled Peru after his decade-long regime faced a series of corruption scandals and resigned his presidency in a fax sent from Japan.
The trip to Chile was his first to South America since leaving Peru.
Fujimori, 67, arrived by private plane from Mexico on Sunday afternoon, Chilean media said. He was accompanied by four people who were not identified. The reports said he went from the airport to a hotel.
"It is my purpose to remain temporarily in Chile, as part of the process for my return to Peru," Fujimori said in a statement issued by his office in Lima, Peru, and sent to Chilean media.
Fujimori said he wanted to "fulfill my pledge to an important sector of the Peruvian people that has called on me to participate as candidate to the presidency of the republic in the coming election in 2006," the statement said.
Fujimori obtained a Peruvian passport last month. His passport expired after he fled his homeland to Japan.
Peru's Congress adopted a resolution banning him from holding public office until February 2011, but Fujimori pledged to return and seek re-election in April anyway.
Peruvian authorities have sought Fujimori's extradition for five years, but Japanese authorities say they cannot extradite him because he has been granted Japanese citizenship. Fujimori is the son of Japanese immigrants to Peru.
Fujimori seized near-dictatorial power in April 1992 by sending tanks to shut down Congress and the judiciary — a move he argued was necessary to fight leftist rebels and end economic chaos.
After international pressure, he convoked a constitutional assembly that created the unicameral congress, and in November 1992 he held new congressional elections. He was re-elected to a second term in a landslide victory three years later.
Chilean officials appeared surprised by Fujimori's arrival at a time of tension with Peru over sea boundaries. Legislation passed Thursday by Peru could lead to it claiming Pacific waters now under Chilean control. The area is rich in fishing resources.