Peru Offers Reward For Fugitive Rebel

Peru’s government announced a $77,000 reward Monday for the capture of the highest-ranking Tupac Amaru rebel leader still at large.

Hugo Avellaneda is believed to have taken over the leftist guerrilla group after the April 22 commando raid that ended the Tupac Amaru’s 126-day hostage-taking at the Japanese ambassador’s mansion in Lima.

The raid killed all 14 guerrillas at the mansion, including Nestor Cerpa and his second-in-command, as well as one of the 72 hostages and two soldiers.

The government placed a full-page in Expreso newspaper on Monday, with six illustrations showing how Avellaneda might look with or without a mustache, beard and glasses.

The group’s top leader and founder, Victor Polay, is serving a life sentence in a prison in Callao, Lima’s port.