Ex-spy chief protests in jail he helped build

Former Peruvian spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos started a hunger strike to protest against his transfer to a maximum-security naval prison he helped design for guerrilla leaders, his wife said yesterday.

‘‘What is very worrisome is his fragile state of health. He has already lost 33 pounds,’’ Trinidad Becerra told Lima’s channel 4 last night. ‘‘He is very weak.’’