HomeNewsBriefPeru's Shining Path Rebels Video Shows New Blood, Weapons
BRIEF

Peru's Shining Path Rebels Video Shows New Blood, Weapons

PERU / 8 SEP 2014 BY JEREMY MCDERMOTT EN

Peru's Shining Path rebel movement has released a video showing its fighters, several very young, parading with an impressive arsenal, as the group seeks to show it is still a force to be reckoned with.

The video, broadcast by the Peruvian television program Cuarto Poder, shows some 27 rebels dressed for the most part in black, each one armed with a weapon. Leading them is the group's purported ideologue Jorge Quispe Palomino, alias "Comrade Raul," the brother of rebel leader Victor Quispe Palomino, known as "Comrade Jose." He is seen not only parading with the fighters, but playing a guitar and singing revolutionary songs.

While most of the weapons on display are assault rifles -- AK-47s and FALs -- robbed from the Peruvian police and army, a rocket propelled grenade launcher (RPG), two rifle grenade launchers, and two heavy machine guns are prominently displayed as well.

Also evident in the recordings is the presence of minors who are seen singing revolutionary anthems. The Shining Path recruit children, called "pioneers," many of whom are the children of fighters or supporters.

The images were most likely filmed in the last remaining Shining Path stronghold of the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro River Valleys (VRAEM).

InSight Crime Analysis

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the video, which was apparently delivered with the blessing of the Shining Path leadership, is that there is no attempt made to hide the identities of the fighters. The clips will no doubt provide useful intelligence for the Peruvian military and police. It seems that the rebels are keen to show the impressive arsenal they have amassed and the fact that they are able to concentrate fighters within their stronghold without fear.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of the Shining Path

The Shining Path in the VRAEM suffered a severe blow last year, when the movement's military head and second-in-command, Orlando Alejandro Borda Casafranco, alias "Comrade Alipio," was killed alongside another of the Quispe Palomino brothers, Marco, alias "Gabriel."

Yet these losses do not appear to have fatally weakened the Peruvian rebels. Such is their strength in the VRAEM that the government has suspended the eradication of coca crops, the raw material for cocaine and the principal earner for the remnants of the Shining Path.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 7 APR 2021

Illegal gold mining is devastating South America's jungles. The trade has been destroying large swaths of forest and flooding rivers…

PERU / 26 MAY 2021

Authorities in Peru have sent troops to an isolated river valley at the heart of the country’s cocaine trade after…

COCA / 27 SEP 2022

Increased coca cultivation in Peru provides the raw ingredient cocaine traffickers use when pushing into developing markets like Australia.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…