Peru spy chief's asylum bid, a Latin American tradition

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -- Whether whisked away by private jet at midnight or crammed into a run-down battleship with political cronies, Latin American leaders have a history of leaving town when their welcome at home wears out.

So when disgraced Peruvian spy master Vladimiro Montesinos unceremoniously jetted off on Sunday to seek asylum in Panama after a corruption scandal that forced President Alberto Fujimori to call elections, he was abiding by time-honored regional tradition.

Time and time again, the volatile combination of military strongmen and finicky electorates has forced embattled leaders to make themselves scarce -- and in a hurry.

On occasion, going on the lam has worked out neatly for deposed rulers. Cuba's then dictator Fulgencio Batista made off to the Dominican Republic with an alleged $40 million in government funds when a band of guerrillas led by a young Fidel Castro descended from the mountains and ousted him in 1959.

But things have not always worked out so well.

After he was found to have pocketed earthquake relief funds intended for his impoverished people, Nicaraguan despot Anastasio Somoza fled the country in 1979, testing the waters in Miami first before ultimately landing in the steamy South American enclave of Paraguay.

But even Paraguay's then notoriously totalitarian regime could not shield Somoza from the bazooka attack by ultra-leftist Argentine guerrillas that took his life in 1980. Nicaragua descended into civil war for much of the ensuing decade.

For Latin American leaders who harbor illusions of one day returning to power, the standard-bearer seems to be Argentine President Juan Peron. He sailed away to exile in a Paraguayan navy vessel down the muddy River Plate when air force jets strafed his presidential palace in 1955.

After spending most of 18 years' exile in Spain orchestrating his return, Peron reclaimed Argentina's presidency for a year before dying -- of natural causes -- in 1974.

Despite past mishaps, the most compelling incentive for those contemplating exile may be the horrific examples of Latin American rulers who did not take the hint and get out in time.

Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende died of a gunshot wound -- the origins of which are still hotly debated -- when troops loyal to future dictator Augusto Pinochet stormed the presidential palace in 1973.

When Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega lingered too long in power, the United States sent stealth bombers, Cobra helicopters and 26,000 troops to invade the country in 1989 and bring him to Miami to stand trial on drug charges.

But triumphant returns or spectacular deaths are more the exception than the rule. More often than not, deposed leaders like Cuba's Batista or Paraguay's Alfredo Stroessner -- in exile in Brazil -- slip away into ineffectual, if not always quiet, anonymity.

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