A Peruvian judge has declared disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori an absent criminal and authorities issued an international arrest warrant on charges of dereliction of duty.
Judge Jose Luis Lecaros told reporters he had issued a resolution declaring the accused, Fujimori, an absent criminal and presenting the respective arrest orders.
President Alejandro Toledo's government, which has vowed to step up diplomatic and legal pressure to haul Fujimori back from self-exile in Japan, said it was working behind-the-scenes actively but warned Peruvians not to expect overnight results.
Fujimori fled to Japan and was fired last November at the height of a corruption scandal triggered by his former spy chief and right-hand man, Vladimiro Montesinos.
The spy master, who has been telling judges he acted on Fujimori's orders, was captured last month in Venezuela and is in a grim naval base jail awaiting trial on charges ranging from running arms and drug rackets to ordering death squads.
Investigators say they suspect Fujimori of misuse of state funds and involvement in what they call Montesinos' mafia of corruption in Peru's courts, Congress, military and media, but he currently faces only the dereliction of duty charges.
There was no immediate reaction from Fujimori or Japan.