LIMA -- Interim President Valentín Paniagua of Peru defused the first serious
 crisis since he took over from ousted leader Alberto Fujimori, as prisoners with
 the Maoist Shining Path insurgency agreed to end their riot at a high-security
 prison here.

 The rioters agreed to sign a peace deal with prison authorities after Justice
 Minister Diego García Sayán stepped into the fray and said the new
 administration would look into sentencing and imprisonment procedures.

 A spokesman for the prisoners said part of the deal was that prisoners would
 meet with representatives of the Red Cross, the district attorney's office and
 prison authorities to discuss their demands.