Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Shining Path

United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Shining Path, 19 June 2015, https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2015/en/105370 [accessed 19 April 2024]
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aka SL; Sendero Luminoso; Ejercito Guerrillero Popular (People's Guerrilla Army); EGP; Ejercito Popular de Liberacion (People's Liberation Army); EPL; Partido Comunista del Peru (Communist Party of Peru); PCP; Partido Comunista del Peru en el Sendero Luminoso de Jose Carlos Mariategui (Communist Party of Peru on the Shining Path of Jose Carlos Mariategui); Socorro Popular del Peru (People's Aid of Peru); SPP

Description: The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso or SL) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. Former university professor Abimael Guzman formed SL in Peru in the late 1960s, and his teachings created the foundation of SL's militant Maoist doctrine. SL's stated goal is to destroy existing Peruvian institutions and replace them with a communist peasant revolutionary regime. It also opposes any influence by foreign governments. In the 1980s, SL was one of the most ruthless terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere. The Peruvian government made dramatic gains against SL during the 1990s, capturing Guzman in 1992, and killing a large number of militants.

Today, SL operates primarily in the Apurimac, Ene, and Montaro River Valley (VRAEM), an area that accounts for half of Peru's total cocaine production. The organization was significantly weakened by an August 2013 operation conducted by a joint military-police task force in the VRAEM that resulted in the deaths of two of the SL's top operational leaders, Alejandro Borda Casafranca (also known as Comrade Alipio) and Martin Quispe Palomino (also known as Comrade Gabriel). The demise of Alipio and Gabriel was the biggest blow sustained by the SL since the capture of SL's then-national leader, Comrade Feliciano, in 1999.

Activities: SL carried out approximately 20 terrorist attacks in 2014, a significant drop from the estimated 50 attacks the group conducted in 2013. The attacks resulted in the deaths of two soldiers and the wounding of six soldiers, two police officers, and seven civilians. SL did not demonstrate the ability to conduct attacks in Lima.

Strength: Peruvian officials estimated that SL consisted of approximately 100 fighters.

Location/Area of Operation: Peru, with most activity in rural areas, specifically the Huallaga Valley and the Apurimac, Ene, and Montaro River Valley of central Peru.

Funding and External Aid: SL is primarily funded by the illicit narcotics trade.

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