Peru's Shining Path (SL) on an upswing

[SF_BHT]

With the Government of Garcia setting the stage of economic problems the Shining Path is making their return to Peruvian Life. They are learning from Colombia that Drugs + Revolution = a better chance at their objectives.

The Peruvian military puts a good spin on it but the facts are that they are having a hard time countering the threat with the economy tanking slowley. The US should look at this early on and might want to help out before they get too entrenched in the country side.

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Peru military says 13 soldiers dead in ambushes
Sat Apr 11, 11:26 pm ET
LIMA, Peru – Suspected guerrillas have killed 13 Peruvian soldiers in ambushes on two patrols in a jungle region known for coca production and lingering rebel activity, the government said Saturday.

Four more were wounded and two are still missing from Thursday's attacks in the Apurimac-Ene River Valley of southeastern Peru, according to the military.

The guerrillas apparently first attacked one of the patrols with explosives, killing one and wounding three, and then tracked and ambushed the other group.

"Twelve (from the second patrol) have been found dead in a ravine, and some of their weapons have been taken — surely by the Shining Path," Defense Minister Antero Flores-Araoz told reporters late Saturday.

The Maoist Shining Path once boasted 10,000 fighters and rocked the capital with nearly daily car bombings before fading after the capture of its founder in 1992. Officials say the guerrillas number about 500 today and survive through drug trafficking.

The attacks in Sanabamba, 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Lima, are the deadliest since October, when 13 soldiers and two civilians were ambushed and killed while transporting dynamite in Huancavelica.

President Alan Garcia's chief Cabinet minister called the attacks an act of desperation in response to the military presence in the area.

"They continue to kill soldiers and police, but this will not defeat the army, the police or much less our democracy," Yehude Simon said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/...8Xp0rhhjy3IxIF

[echoes]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

The Maoist Shining Path once boasted 10,000 fighters and rocked the capital with nearly daily car bombings before fading after the capture of its founder in 1992. Officials say the guerrillas number about 500 today and survive through drug trafficking.

The attacks in Sanabamba, 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Lima, are the deadliest since October, when 13 soldiers and two civilians were ambushed and killed while transporting dynamite in Huancavelica.

B,

Thank You for posting this! Read about them prior to my visit, and have some family friends going next month...will caution!

Be Safe down there B, and Keep Up The Fight!

Holly

[Richard]

Old revolutionary movements are like damn tomato plants, once their seeds are planted they seldom go away...they just keep coming back.

Richard's $.02

[SF_BHT]

When you have nothing this at least breaks up the time sitting and watching the fire burn......

The Gov here are not doing their selfs any favors right now.

I could take over the whole Eastern side of the andies with a good A Team and 6-12 months. (If we did not like the Gov)

Perfect UW Environment right now they only need some training and a little leadership. Any one up for a FTX?

[SF_BHT]

Not too many killed for having an offensive since Aug 2008 - Present.
Might need some training yahthink.....


Peru defends offensive after deadly rebel attack


By ANDREW WHALEN, Associated Press Writer Andrew Whalen, Associated Press Writer – Mon Apr 13, 5:22 pm ET
LIMA, Peru – Peru's government on Monday defended its offensive against the remnants of a once-powerful insurgency as armed forces searched for a soldier reported missing following rebel ambushes that killed more than a dozen people last week.

The body of one missing soldier was recovered Sunday, raising the death toll to 14 in Thursday's rebel ambushes on two army patrols in the Apurimac-Ene river valley, Defense Minister Antero Flores-Araoz said.

Peru's joint command said another soldier is still missing. Lima's military hospital told The Associated Press that seven soldiers and one civilian were injured in the attacks.

The guerrillas apparently first attacked one of the patrols with explosives, killing one soldier and wounding three, then tracked and ambushed the other group, Flores-Araoz said.

The attacks in Sanabamba, a region of Ayacucho province 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Lima, are the deadliest since October, when 13 soldiers and two civilians were killed in an ambush on a column of military trucks in the adjoining province of Huancavelica.

The rebels have now killed 32 soldiers, mostly in ambushes, and wounded 48 since Peru's military mounted an offensive in August, according to Peru's joint command. The offensive was launched to root rebels out of Vizcatan, a jungle-draped highland region in the valley considered to be the last stronghold of remnants of the Shining Path rebels.

Former Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi told Lima-based RPP radio on Monday that the offensive has been a "disaster." He said the lack of results in terms of rebel kills and captures shows that the government's strategy of taking and holding territory against the well-armed guerrillas is not working. He suggested instead that the government launch intelligence-supported special forces operations.

Ex-army chief Edwin Donayre agreed, calling the situation "unacceptable."

"There are principles applicable to conventional warfare that do not suffice for non-conventional war," he told RPP. "We have zero results so we need to reconfigure our strategy."

Flores-Araoz said the government has no tally of rebel kills because the drug-funded guerrillas collect their dead, though the military has found traces of blood after confrontations.

He defended the offensive, saying "territory once dominated by the drug trade has been recovered." But he added that the joint command will decide if a new strategy needs to be applied.

Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas told reporters Monday that the soldiers ignored security protocol by patrolling during the day, but said the error should not discredit the military's overall strategy, which she called sound.

The Maoist Shining Path once boasted 10,000 fighters and rocked Peru's capital with nearly daily car bombings before fading after the capture of its fanatical founder, Abimael Guzman, in 1992. Nearly 70,000 Peruvians died between 1980 and 2000 in the rebels' first battle with Peru's government, mainly highland Indians caught between the guerrillas and state security forces.

Officials say the Shining Path's remnants, numbering about 500, have largely abandoned ideology for the drug trade in two remote coca-producing valleys. They produce and traffic their own cocaine, and drugs continue to move out of the Apurimac-Ene river valley despite the government's offensive, Peru's anti-drug police say.

(This version CORRECTS the total number of soldiers killed to 32.)

[exsquid]

Hey bro, we are here, we are ready, we would love to do it. The problem is that puzzle palace you work out of. Nuff, said.

x/S

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by exsquid

Hey bro, we are here, we are ready, we would love to do it. The problem is that puzzle palace you work out of. Nuff, said.

x/S

Give me a call.....

[Richard]

Maoist bastards - Guzman was the O-bee of the liberation movements until his capture. If they screw up my plans to visit Machu Pichu next year there may be a fight.

Does the SL poster of Guzman remind you of anyone?

Richard's $.02

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by Richard

Maoist bastards - Guzman was the O-bee of the liberation movements until his capture. If they screw up my plans to visit Machu Pichu next year there may be a fight.

Does the SL poster of Guzman remind you of anyone?

Richard's $.02

Yes it does and I would not worry right now but this summer would be great......