MAD, VLAD, DANGEROUS TO KNOW ; Vladimiro Montesinos Is Part Rasputin, Part J Edgar Hoover, Part Vlad the Impaler - and Part Austin Powers. Police, Politicians, Criminals and Spies from All over the Americas Are on His Trail. but Not Only Does Nobody Know Where He Is: They Don't Even Know What He Looks like. Jan McGirk Reports

McGirk, Jan, The Independent (London, England)

Cosmetic surgery is one of Caracas's few growth industries. A recent survey identified Venezuelans as the vainest people on earth, and their capital is a magnet for patients seeking nips, tucks and all manner of other visual enhancements. As a result, people with bandaged faces have become such a common sight in the streets that they barely attract a second glance. But among the bandaged figures shuffling along the pavements there shortly before Christmas was a man who, had anyone recognised him, would have attracted a great deal of interest.

As it was, no one did; but the attention soon followed anyway. On 18 December, Hugo Ramos, a medical photographer employed by …

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Publication information: Article title: MAD, VLAD, DANGEROUS TO KNOW ; Vladimiro Montesinos Is Part Rasputin, Part J Edgar Hoover, Part Vlad the Impaler - and Part Austin Powers. Police, Politicians, Criminals and Spies from All over the Americas Are on His Trail. but Not Only Does Nobody Know Where He Is: They Don't Even Know What He Looks like. Jan McGirk Reports. Contributors: McGirk, Jan - Author. Newspaper title: The Independent (London, England). Publication date: February 4, 2001. Page number: 8,. © 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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