Shining Path – Downfall

Towards the late 1980s, Shining Path began losing sympathy from the people it had hoped to empower.  Shining Path began killing and assassinating members and leaders of other leftist groups in Peru and anyone else who even remotely opposed them or seemed to back the Peruvian government.

In 1992 Peruvian security forces captured Guzman in Lima.  Without their leader, Shining Path began to crumble.  Attacks and fatalities decreased dramatically after Guzman’s capture as Shining Path had no one to lead them.  The president of Peru had Guzman locked in a cage and displayed publicly as a sign of humiliation.  Soon after his capture, Guzman called for peace talks which split the remaining Shining Path members into two groups: those who wanted to keep fighting, and those who wanted to lay down their arms.  This further disintegrated the Shining Path group.

Abimael Guzman after his capture in 1992.
Abimael Guzman after his capture in 1992.

 

The early and mid-2000s have seen a slight resurgence in Shining Path activities, including multiple bombings and kidnappings.  Peruvian police forces have continued to combat the group and have apprehended many of the group’s leaders over the years.

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