 Gorriti first gained fame as a journalist in the 1980s reporting on Peru's internal conflicts between the government and terrorist groups such as the Shining Path.In addition to his news articles, he wrote a three-volume book on the organization.While working for the weekly "Caretas" in 1992, he reported links between the government and narcotics traffickers, particularly implicating Vladimiro Montesinos, President Alberto Fujimori's "strong man".