Significant Historical Background
This map highlights the areas the Shining Path was active when they were at their peak.
Beginning in the late 1960s the Shining Path is a radical Marxist/leftist group in Peru. The founder and leader was a former university professor named Abimael Guzman Reynoso who founded the group on the principals of the peoples war. Creating a well organized and educated group of students and teachers who began by committing theatrical acts of rebellions. In May of 1980, during Peru's first free election, they began burning ballot boxes in rural areas. Later that year they hung dead dogs up on lampposts to express their frustration with China's reassertion into the capitalistic global economy. Theatrics aside the group was extremely dangerous. As a reaction a war was waged between the Shining Path and the Peruvian police. This became known as a dirty war due to the violent paths both sides have chosen. Since the formation of this group they have committed over 4000 incidents of terror. Committing over 2000 bombing and over 800 assassinations. Actions included destroying the agricultural societies established by the government in the 1970s that had begun to fall apart during the 1980s. Senderistas carried out vigilante justice for peasants, and the peasants felt Sendero’s presence was better for them than the state (which was absent) and the local tyrants.In 1992, Guzman was capture in Lima and has been imprisoned since. From jail he has called for a ceasefire yet with it's current connections to cocaine trafficking the Shining Path is still and active terror organization.
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Sources:
START Datatbase http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=111
Mitchell, W. "Shining path through complementary lenses: history and ethnography." Journal of Latin American and Caribbean anthropology17.1 (2012): 181-185.
