Bill Nelson: “just today I initiated an effort to ask Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo to reopen an investigation into the brutal…”

“just today I initiated an effort to ask Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo to reopen an investigation into the brutal torture-murder of a young journalist from my state. The 28-year-old reporter, Todd Smith, was found dead 15 years ago, his body discovered in Peru's violent coca-producing region. This son of a Florida appellate judge worked for The Tampa Tribune, and was investigating the drug traffic in the northern Peruvian jungle. Officials in Peru were quick to say the murder was the work of the Shining Path--a Maoist insurgent group said to be involved in protecting cultivators of the coca plant. Specifically, Peru's Interior Ministry said Todd had been captured by Maoist rebels and possibly sold to drug traffickers for $30,000. Four years later, a secret counterterrorism trial in Peru resulted in a Shining Path guerrilla being sentenced to 30 years in prison for taking part in the murder. He was the only person ever tried for the crime--and even he reportedly has received an early release. Little else was known. Now, however, the transcript of that secret 1993 trial has emerged, including an intelligence report that identifies a businessman who founded a Peru airline as one of the masterminds behind Todd's killing. The complete court file was obtained by a Lima-based institute for a free press and society.…”