Weapons and explosives from a remnant Shining Path group seized in Peru

The Armed Forces of Peru and the National Police seized an arsenal made up of war grenades, homemade explosives and ammunition, belonging to a remnant Shining Path group that is still active.

The supplies were found in a grave located approximately one kilometer from the hamlet called Libertad, which is located within the municipality of Santo Domingo de Acobamba, in the central region of Junín, according to the Joint Command of the Armed Forces in a statement on Tuesday. .

The area is part of the Valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM), an extensive area on the eastern slope of the Andes that is the largest coca-growing basin in Peru and which serves as a stronghold of the Militarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP) , as the last active remnant of the Shining Path calls itself.

Among the objects found there are 26 sticks of dynamite, 7 grenades, 2 sticks of explosives and more than 50 containers with homemade explosive.

An out-of-stock magazine for an assault rifle was also found, as well as numerous ammunition for similar weapons and items to set off explosives such as fuses, cables and detonators.

In addition to the military supplies, there were propaganda flyers and subversive manifestos linked to the MPCP, whose members operate in the area financed by drug trafficking, which in exchange they protect against the actions of the state security forces.

Ecuador had no ties to the Shining Path, but its existence influenced changes in intelligence apparatuses in the region.

The seizure of all this material was carried out on Monday in coordination with the Prosecutor’s Office by a patrol made up of special forces, both military and police.

After the intervention, the patrol was extracted in helicopters and transported by air to the Jauja region, also in Junín, for the corresponding proceedings.

The VRAEM is the last active scene of the bloody internal armed conflict (1980-2000) unleashed in Peru by the Maoist group Shining Path and the Marxist Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), which caused some 69,000 deaths, according to the Commission’s final report. of Truth and Reconciliation (CVR).

Since the late 1990s, when the entire leadership of the Shining Path was captured, the Quispe Palomino brothers took over the organization in the VRAEM.

Of the three brothers, now only Víctor Quispe Palomino (“Comrade José”) remains alive, who is estimated to be in command of a hundred armed men, although the exact number of people who are part of this organization is unknown. (I)