Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa (18 December 1825[2] – 5 May 1901) was a Peruvian army general who served as the 17th (1865 - 1868) and 21st (1876 - 1879) President of Peru.

In 1866 the Spanish fleet attacked and was defeated under General Prado's command at the Battle of Dos de Mayo in Callao 1866.

At the time only Peru had a few naval vessels which earlier had forced the Spanish fleet to retire at the Battle of Abtao, Chile in 1866.

In 1879, the Congress of Peru authorized President Prado to leave the country in search of arms in New York and naval vessels in Brest, France.

Nicolas de Pierola had been plotting to take over for many years and had returned to Lima from Santiago just before the war with Chile broke out.

Pierola mismanaged the war effort and deserted the capital when Chile troops landed in Barranco, south of Lima.