A special video report published Dec. 18 in Peru’s weekly Panorama, with commentary by Police Gen. Oscar Arriola, head of the Directorate Against Terrorism (Dircote), offers detailed intelligence about the role of the narco-terrorist Sendero Luminoso/Shining Path in instigating and leading the violent protest that has rocked Peru since the removal of President Pedro Castillo on Dec. 7. Castillo was impeached and arrested after he tried to shut down the Congress and set up an emergency government with plans to write a new Constitution.
EIR has documented in great detail the origins of the Pol Pot-like Shining Path which sprang out of the networks of the French anthropologist Jacques Soustelle. (https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1984/eirv11n38-19841001/eirv11n38-19841001_022-perus_shining_path_exposed_how_t.pdf )
In the video, General Arriola discussed the modus operandi by which former members of Shining Path, who work with the group’s legal arm, the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights (Movadef), have infiltrated peaceful marches in Lima and other cities, and both instigated and carried out acts of vandalism and violence. He identified three former Shining Path members who were convicted of terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s but later released, and are now involved in the current protests along with 30 others belonging to Movadef. Based on reports by intelligence agents, Arriola named specific individuals, showing them attending protests at Lima’s Plaza San Martin, or engaging in acts of violence elsewhere in Lima, setting fire to vehicles, throwing projectiles, rocks, etc. and ordering others to do so.
He also asserts these individuals are likely tied into illegal mining and drug-trafficking networks, judging from the fact that they rode around in fancy, late-model vehicles.
Of particular interest is the case of Javier Melgarejo Malima, who was convicted of terrorism in 1989 and served time in prison. After that, he worked with other organizations that were front groups for Shining Path, such as Socorro Popular (Popular Aid), which is in charge of the legal defense for Sendero members still in jail.
