Peru Prepares Major Offensive Against Shining Path In VRAE – Report

President Ollanta Humala’s government is preparing a large-scale offensive against remnants of the Shining Path insurgency in the isolated coca-growing Apurimac and Ene river valleys, or VRAE, daily El Comercio reported, citing Reuters.

The report said the offensive is the biggest in almost two decades, and seeks to deliver a major blow to the Shining Path.

The initiative follows the kidnapping of 36 natural gas workers earlier this month Read more…

Peru To Send Inexperienced Soldiers To Dangerous Coca-Growing Region

Peru’s Defense Ministry plans to send a number of young soldiers into a dangerous coca-growing region as part of efforts to track down narco-terrorists that kidnapped 36 natural gas workers earlier this month, according to the  National Ombudsman’s office.

The office, known as the Defensoria del Pueblo, said the troops have only completed between 28 days and seven months of service. Four of the soldiers are younger than 21-years-old, daily El Comercio reported.

The soldiers were sent to a counter-terrorism base in the city of Satipo, located in Junin region, from April 11 to 13. Family members say, however, that the group is now being sent to the zone of Vilcabamba, in Cusco, which is where remnants of the Read more…

Gov’t Confirms Informal Miner Trapped In New Cave-In

An informal miner in Peru’s southern Ayacucho region has been trapped underground, the government confirmed, in another case that highlights the dangers of wildcat mining in the Andean country.

The Mines and Energy Ministry confirmed that the miner, Medardo Gutierrez, was trapped when there was a cave-in at the informal Luicho mine, in the district of Colta, in Ayacucho.

Felipe Paico, the head of the health office in Colta, said Thursday that Gutierrez has been trapped for more than 36 hours. He said he is “healthy” and is receiving food, Read more…

Peru Seeks 30 Year Sentence For Ex-Owner Of Peruvian Airlines

A Peruvian state attorney is seeking a 30 year prison sentence for businessman Cesar Cataño, the former owner of airline company Peruvian Airlines, for money laundering, newspaper El Comercio reported.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses Cataño of laundering money from drug trafficking through a number of companies. El Comercio says these companies include Kanawaga Corporation SAC, Import Export Vizcar SA, Transportes Aereos Cielos Andinos SAC and Peruvian Airlines. 

A report by the Anti-drug police finds that Cataño has been unable to account for some $663 million between 1990 and 2000. Read more…

Peru Reiterates Position On Drug Legalization At Regional Summit

Foreign Relations Minister Rafael Roncagliolo has reiterated Peru’s position against legalizing drugs, state news agency Andina reported.

Roncagliolo made the comments at the Sixth Summit of the Americas, held during this past weekend in the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena. The issue of drug legalization was being touted as one of the big issues at the summit, as a number of Latin American leaders have hinted recently that this may be necessary in order to Read more…

Humala: Gov’t Aiming For “Zero Cost” To Shining Path Kidnapping

President Ollanta Humala said Thursday that Peru’s security forces are looking to resolve the kidnapping of up to 40 natural gas workers by suspected Shining Path rebels with “zero cost” to the hostages.

“We are taking into account the life of the workers,” said Humala, according to daily El Comercio.

Humala’s comments were his first since the 36 to 40 workers were kidnapped early Read more…

Report: Shining Path Seeks $10 Million Ransom For Kidnapped Workers

Shining Path rebels, suspected of kidnapping natural gas workers on Monday, have reportedly demanded a $10 million ransom, explosives, and clothes in exchange for the hostages, daily El Comercio reported.

The workers —between 36 and 40— were kidnapped early Monday morning in Kepashiato, a town located in the province of La Convencion in Cusco region.

Peru’s government has maintained military-like silence about the incident. On Monday, the Interior Ministry confirmed the kidnapping of the workers and that it was taking actions to rescue them, however it did not provide further information.

According to local news reports, a combined military-police force of 1,500 troops Read more…

Indigenous Communities Reject Prior Consultation Law Rules

Indigenous leaders on Wednesday came out against the regulations of the Prior Consultation Law, enacted Tuesday, daily El Comercio reported.

One of the main reasons why some indigenous community organizations are against the law, which is intended to provide the communities with better consultation rights on natural resource projects, is that the legislation is not binding.

Instead, the government has reserved the right to make the final decision on whether a project will be developed if the indigenous communities reject it in the consultation process. The law is intended to prevent social conflicts by improving Read more…

Peru Captures Shining Path Leader In Upper Huallaga

Peruvian authorities announced they have captured a leader of the Shining Path remnants in the Upper Huallaga Valley, state news agency Andina reported.

Jaime Arenas Caviedes, alias Braulio, was allegedly one of the leaders of the Shining Path in the Upper Huallaga valley, following the capture of Florindo Flores in February.

Flores, also known as Comrade Artemio, was the last remaining member of the Shining Path’s central committee that had not been arrested or killed. He is now being held at the maximum security Callao Naval base prison, along with other high-profile inmates such as Read more…

Peru Approves Prior Consultation Regulations

Peru’s government published on Tuesday regulations that govern the “Prior Consultation Law,” new legislation that is intended to improve dialogue with indigenous communities that are affected by development projects, especially mining and energy projects.

The regulations, which were published in the official newspaper El Peruano, point out that the seven-stage consultation process should take approximately 120 days. Government entities will be responsible for carrying out the consultation, which indigenous groups can choose to do in their native languages or in Spanish.

The Prior Consultation Law (Law 29785) was enacted in September last year by President Ollanta Humala during a ceremony in the jungle town of Bagua, a gesture Read more…

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