Venezuela hunt for spy chief

Fujimori failed to track Montesinos down in October

The Venezuelan Government has admitted for the first time that Peru's disgraced former intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, could be hiding in Venezuela with a new face.

Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel had previously rejected newspaper reports about Mr Montesino's presence in Caracas, dismissing them as part of a campaign to discredit President Hugo Chavez.

It would be no surprise if he's gotten into the country illegally, because it's easier to get in illegally than legally

Venezuela Foreign Minister, Jose Vicente Rangel

Mr Montesinos has been eluding the authorities since October, but in recent days Venezuelan and Peruvian media have been detailing his movements.

The fugitive intelligence chief is known to have escaped from Peru on a luxury yacht, foiling Costa Rican immigration with a beard and false identity.

He is then said to have flown to Aruba in a small plane, before entering Venezuela where he had his nose and eyelids reshaped in a Caracas plastic surgery clinic.

He left without paying the bill, managing to evade a squad of Peruvian agents, and there has been no known trace of him since.

'No surprise'

Now for the first time the Venezuelan government seems to be taking these reports seriously.

Mr Rangel said: "It would be no surprise if he's gotten into the country illegally, because it's easier to get in illegally than legally."

The captain of a sailing boat has confirmed that Mr Montesinos travelled on his boat from Peru to the Galapagos Islands and on to Costa Rica.

Captain Fidencio Anton said that he only found out who his passenger was two days into the voyage, because the boat's owner had not revealed the man's identity.

He said that Mr Montesinos had a beard, and lost weight during the voyage because he did not like the food.

On his arrival in Venezuela, Mr Montesinos checked into a Caracas hotel for six nights with a woman identified as Emma Mejia.

Venezuelan patient

He was reportedly using the alias of Manuel Antonio Rodriguez Perez, the same name used by the patient at Caracas' Instituto Diagnostico.

Montesinos before plastic surgery

Luis Ponte, director of the clinic, said surgeons believed he was a Venezuelan patient, and had altered his eyelids and nose.

Ms Mejia gave herself up to the Peruvian Embassy and was deported to Peru, where she is being held, according to Venezuelan press reports.

The Peruvian Government says the capture of Mr Montesinos is "fundamental" to the internal security of all Latin American nations because he belonged to "an international network of outlaws".

The Venezuelan Government has said that if the disgraced spy chief is found he will be detained and returned to Peru immediately.

Mr Montesinos - who was the closest and most powerful ally of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori - is wanted in Peru on charges of corruption, bribery and other offences.