Country Report on Terrorism 2022 - Chapter 5 - Shining Path (SL)

Aka Sendero Luminoso (SL); Militarized Communist Party of Peru (Militarizado Partido Comunista del Peru-MPCP); Communist Party of Peru-Shining Path (PCP-SL).

Description:  Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso or SL) was designated as an FTO on October 8, 1997.  The Peru-based terrorist organization was founded in 1969 by former university professor Abimael Guzmán, whose teachings created the foundation of SL’s militant Maoist doctrine.  During the 1980s to the early 1990s, SL was one of the most ruthless terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere.  In 1992 the Peruvian government captured Guzmán and key accomplices and sentenced them to life in prison; Guzmán died there in 2021.  SL is led by Victor Quispe Palomino, alias Comrade Jose, and Tarcela Loya Vilchez, alias Olga.  Historically, the group aimed to overthrow the Peruvian government.

Activities:  SL typically targets Peruvian security services and has been known to conduct attacks against civilians.  In mid-2021, members of an armed group affiliated with SL murdered 16 civilians, stating that the victims’ activities were inconsistent with the group’s beliefs.  SL conducts a range of illicit activities, inducing extortion, murder, and drug trafficking.  In 2022, SL conducted at least five attacks.

Strength:  Estimates of SL’s strength vary, but experts assess it to number between 250 and 300 members.

Location/Area of Operation:  Peru

Funding and External Aid:  SL is funded by drug trafficking and collecting taxes from drug trafficking organizations operating in remote eastern part of Peru known as the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro River Valley, a vast jungle area near the Andes mountains where most of Peru’s coca cultivation and production occurs.

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