Terrorism: Q & A | Shining Path, Tupac Amaru (Peru, leftists)
Shining Path, Tupac Amaru
What kind of terrorists operate in Peru?
There are two main rebel groups operating in Peru, both leftist: the              Maoist Shining Path (known in Spanish as Sendero Luminoso)              and the Cuban-inspired Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement              (Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru). Their attacks              terrorized Peru for decades before they were beaten back in a 1990s              crackdown, but a March 2002 car bomb attack near the U.S. embassy in              Lima summoned up old Peruvian fears of terrorism. The State              Department still identifies both groups as terrorist organizations.
What types of attacks do              they commit?
In the 1980s and early 1990s, vicious              terrorist attacks were daily occurrences across Peru. Shining Path              and Tupac Amaru were notorious for indiscriminate bombings,              assassinations, brutal killings, kidnappings, bank robberies, and              attacks on Western embassies and businesses. The human and economic              toll was devastating, and Peruvians have a particular dread of              terrorism to this day. Human rights groups estimate that more than              30,000 people have died since the rebels took up arms two decades              ago.
Embassy, Lima, Peru, Mar. 2002.
The bombing was                    reminiscent of
previous Shining Path attacks.
(AP                    Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Former              Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori waged an aggressive and highly              successful campaign against Shining Path and Tupac Amaru. Fujimori,              originally an elected leader, seized near-dictatorial powers in              April 1992, with military support, and disbanded Peruן¿½s congress and              courts, which he said were limiting his ability to crack down on              terrorism. Within a few years, Fujimori had captured most of the              leaders of the rebel groups, and terrorism subsequently declined              sharply. Thousands of Peruvians were convicted of terrorism-related              charges and sentenced to life imprisonment by military courts. Human              rights activists accuse the Peruvian military of committing              widespread human rights abuses during the crackdown, including the              jailing of thousands of innocent Peruvians.
A Peruvian military tribunal convicted an American, Lori              Berenson, of terrorism in 1996 and sentenced her to life in prison.              After protests by the U.S. government, Peru retried Berenson in a              civilian court in 2001. She was convicted of aiding Tupac Amaru and              sentenced to 20 years in prison, where she remains.
How do the groups              differ?
Shining Path, established in the late 1960s by              the former university professor Abimael Guzman, is a militant Maoist              group that seeks to install a peasant revolutionary authority in              Peru. The group took up arms in 1980, and its ranks once numbered in              the thousands. Experts consider it one of the worldן¿½s most ruthless              insurgencies; Shining Path often hacked its victims to death with              machetes. The group, which now has only several hundred members              remaining, operates mainly in jungle areas.
Tupac Amaru, named for an 18th-century rebel leader who fought              Spanish colonial control, was founded on many of the communist              principles that led to the Cuban revolution. The group, which is              Marxist and wants to rid Peru of all imperialist elements, took up              arms in 1984 and at its height had close to 1,000 members, mainly in              rural areas. Experts consider Tupac Amaru less violent than Shining              Path. Tupac Amaru members, who normally conceal their identities by              wearing bandannas, have tried to promote a Robin Hood image of              stealing from the rich to help the poor. The group is best known for              its 1996 takeover of the Japanese ambassadorן¿½s residence in Lima.              Most of Tupac Amaruן¿½s leaders were killed in 1997 when Peruvian              forces raided the Japanese compound and freed the hostages. The              group has fewer than 100 members today.
Do these two groups              cooperate with each other?
No. There is bad blood              between them. Shining Path sees Tupac Amaruן¿½s fighters as traitors              to communism. In the past, the two groups have fought each other for              members and for the ן¿½taxesן¿½ that they both collect from cocaine              smugglers operating in jungle areas under rebel control. Peru is the              world's second-largest producer of cocaine (after Colombia), and              such ן¿½taxesן¿½ are a major source of revenue for the insurgents.
Are the rebels popular in              Peru?
No. Most Peruvians regard Shining Path and Tupac              Amaru as terrorists who caused thousands of deaths and untold              suffering. But despite the Peruvian governmentן¿½s successful              antiterrorist campaign, the rebels retain a small number of              sympathizers among the rural poor.