| Militarized Communist Party of Peru | |
|---|---|
| Militarizado Partido Comunista del Perú | |
 | |
| Also known as | |
| Leader | Comrade José |
| Dates of operation | 1992 (1992)–present[note 3] |
| Split from | Shining Path |
| Allegiance |  China (self-claim)[1].svg) FUDARP (2018–2022) |
| Active regions | VRAEM |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Syncretic Fiscal:Far-left Social:Far-right |
| Major actions | Involvement in thecommunist insurgency in Peru through the use of: |
| Status | Active |
| Size | 160 (2020)[10] |
| Allies | China (self-claim)[1] Puka Inti PCB (MLM)FRP-MLMLa Empresa  ASPRET (2018–2022) |
| Opponents |  Peru United States Communist Party of Peru – Huallaga Regional Committee[11] |
| Wars | Internal conflict in Peru |
| Flag |  |
TheMilitarized Communist Party of Peru (Spanish:Militarizado Partido Comunista del Perú,MPCP)[note 4] is a political party and militant group inPeru that followsMarxism–Leninism–Maoism and participates in thecommunist insurgency in Peru. It is considered aterrorist organization by the government of Peru. The MPCP operates primarily in theVRAEM area and is involved in the area'scoca production.[13]Comrade José has been the leader of the MPCP since its official creation in 2018 after its final split from the decliningShining Path guerilla group.[14]
The MPCP originated in the 1990s as theCommunist Party of Peru – Pro-Seguir (PCP Pro-Seguir),[note 2] forming after the capture ofAbimael Guzmán. The party is considered the direct successor to the Shining Path by the government of Peru and other international entities[citation needed], because most of its members splintered from the Shining Path in 1992. Ideologically, the group brands itself as a Maoist party, although its beliefs differ greatly from those of the Shining Path.[15][need quotation to verify] The MPCP has maintained contact with Andeanultranationalist groups tied with the ethnocacerist movement.[16] In 2018, the MPCP formed an alliance with thePlurinational Association of Tawantinsuyo Reservists, an ethnocacerist group, called theUnited Democratic Andean Revolutionary Front of Peru (Spanish:Frente Unido Democrático Andino Revolucionario del Perú).[16] Diverging from other Maoist parties, the MPCP has voiced support for the modern-dayChinese Communist Party and itsGeneral SecretaryXi Jinping.[17][18] The group has distanced itself from theGonzalo Thought ideology andanti-religious stance of the Shining Path.[14]
The MPCP has stated that it severed its ties with the leader of the Shining Path, Abimael Guzmán, after his capture in 1992 and subsequent call for peace in 1993. However, the MPCP itself has been accused of utilizing similar tactics to those of Guzmán, includingslavery ofindigenous peoples,[19][need quotation to verify] recruitment of children for use aschild soldiers,[20] andterrorist attacks against civilians and members of the Peruvian government, among otherhuman rights violations. The Peruvian military said that the group was responsible for theSan Miguel del Ene attack on 23 May 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 18 people in theSatipo Province of Peru.[21][22]
According to NGOWaynakuna Perú, the MPCP operates eight fronts in theVRAEM Valley with the intent of expanding outwards. Its main fronts are those inEne,Mantaro, andVizcatán, respectively led by Rubén Valle Rojas ("Comrade Javier"; deceased),Jorge Quispe Palomino ("Comrade Raúl"; deceased), andVíctor Quispe Palomino ("Comrade José").[23] In 2015, the group was numbered at around 60 to 80 people.[24]
The group's current leadership includes the following:
The group's former leadership included:
The MPCP maintains an arsenal of arms and anti-aircraft weapons, and has been noted for its use ofsocial media, where it sharespropaganda videos, which often depict their arsenal of weapons.[33] It recruits much of its members from the VRAEM region's younger population,[33] whom are sometimes described by media sources aschild soldiers.[20] The soldiers are paid between 1,800 and 2,000soles and are trained at the party's "popular army schools".[33] Through its control of most of the drug trade in the VRAEM region,[33] it collects "war taxes" from non-affiliated narcotics traffickers.[34][35]
| Revolutionary Armed Forces of Peru | |
|---|---|
| Fuerzas armadas revolucionarias del Perú | |
| Dates of operation | 9 June 2018 – present |
| Active regions | Peru |
| Allies |
|
| Opponents | Peru |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | |
Preceded by People's Guerilla Army | |
Under the leadership ofVíctor Quispe Palomino, theShining Path's paramilitary wing, known as thePeople's Guerrilla Army (Ejército Guerrillero Popular,EGP), was reorganised as thePopular Revolutionary Army (Spanish:Ejército Popular Revolucionario;ERP) until the MPCP's formal establishment and distancing from Guzmán in June 2018, after which it has claimed the name ofRevolutionary Armed Forces of Peru (Spanish:Fuerzas armadas revolucionarias del Perú).[36]
In 2020, it was reported to have made money from selling cigarettes, clothes, candy, raffles and other methods.[37]
The MPCP regards itself as acommunist andMarxist–Leninist–Maoist party, though it explicitly denounces theGonzalo Thought ideology of the originalShining Path.[23][20] Its actions are self-proclaimed as the "Prolonged Unitary Democratic People's War of Peru" (Spanish:Guerra Popular Democrática Prolongada Unitaria del Perú), organised as follows:[38]
It has been compared to theRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia due to its continued existence even after the collapse of its leadership.[23] Unlike its predecessor, the MPCP claims to have abandoned itsanti-religious sentiment andpersecution, and seeks to reach an agreement through dialogue with the Peruvian government.[20] In 2022, it proclaimed its allegiance to theChinese Communist Party and its leader,Xi Jinping.[1]
Following the capture ofAbimael Guzmán, the founder and leader of theShining Path, on 12 September 1992, a ceasefire agreement was reached with the government of then-Peruvian presidentAlberto Fujimori the subsequent year.[40] After the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, the Shining Path was largely divided into two factions: members who supported Guzmán's ceasefire and those who considered Guzmán a "traitor" to thepeople's war. The faction opposed to the ceasefire referred to themselves asSendero Luminoso-Proseguir (Shining Path-Onward) and continued to carry out armed struggle against the Peruvian state.Proseguir operated in two former Shining Path strongholds: the upper basin regions of theHuallaga River and theVRAEM region.[41][42] TheHuallaga faction, which remained loyal to Guzmán but opposed the ceasefire,[43] was led byComrade Artemio until his capture in 2012,[42] while the VRAEM faction was initially led by ComradesAlipio and Gabriel.[20] Following their deaths in 2013,Comrade José became the leader of the VRAEM faction.[44]
In 2017,Diario Correo reported that aMaoist group known as the Militarized Communist Party of Peru had begun advocating for violence onFacebook; the publication stated that the group was likely a faction ofSendero Luminoso-Proseguir.[33] On 9 June 2018, Comrade José officially announced the creation of the Militarized Communist Party of Peru, renouncing all ties to the Shining Path and Abimael Guzmán while additionally denouncingProseguir members who collaborated with the Peruvian military during the capture ofComrade Feliciano.[14][45][need quotation to verify] José had reportedly described himself as the successor to Guzmán and the leader of the Shining Path as early as 2008.[46]
In 2018, the MPCP announced an alliance with theethnocaceristPlurinational Association of Tawantinsuyo Reservists (ASPRET), called theUnited Democratic Andean Revolutionary Front of Peru.[16] A video recorded on 22 April 2017, previously showed Eddy Villarroel Medina, the leader of ASPRET, meeting with Comrade José.[47] Following the formation of the alliance, Villarroel Medina became a spokesperson for the MPCP.[16] In 2022, the alliance was terminated over Villarroel Medina's disagreements with the MPCP's alleged ties toFree Peru;[48] Villarroel Medina later claimed that the party had threatened him and his family following the end of the alliance.[48]
On 23 May 2021, the MPCP carried out theSan Miguel del Ene attack, leaving behind leaflets that stated the attack was carried out to "clean VRAEM and Peru" of outcasts, "parasites and corrupts" as well as "homosexuals, lesbians, drug addicts" and "thieves".[49] The leaflets additionally called for a boycott of the6 June election, accusing of treason those who voted forKeiko Fujimori of the right-wingPopular Force party.[50][51]
In March 2022, the MPCP publicly announced their embrace of theChinese Communist Party (CCP), writing that "the militarized Peruvian communists [have] reorganized ourselves as militants of the glorious and victorious Chinese Communist Party, under the leadership ofCCP general secretaryXi Jinping."[1][17][18] In an audio message recorded by high-ranking party member Comrade Vilma, Vilma called on the party's militants to supportChina against "theUnited States and itsNATO allies through the unjust fifth super-imperialist world war" and stated that Xi and the CCP had "never abandoned Maoism."[1] The United States opposes the activities of the MPCP, with theU.S. Department of State offering a reward of US$5 million for information leading to the arrest of party leader Comrade José.[52]
In November 2023, a bloodless police operation inSayapo, known asLobo II, captured four members of the MPCP who had been accused of being involved in the murder of 7 policemen inCuzco the past February: José Quispe Zúñiga (the 24-year son of Comrade José), Iván Quispe Vargas (23; son of Marco Antonio "Comrade Gabriel" Quispe Palomino), Romeo Campos Mancilla (19) and Jheyson Andrés Ramos Andrade (24). Quispe had been considered his father's (and thus the group's) successor.[53]
In September 2024, a military operation saw the capture of Octavio Vargas Ñahuicopa (also known as "Ciperian"), who was identified as a main figure in the group.[54] In October of the same year, a police operation led to the arrest of Iván Quispe Palomino, erroneously reported as a leader of the group. Despite being one of the Quispe Palomino siblings, he had no links to them of the group since his release from prison in 2005.[10][55]
Areas in Peru where the MPCP is known to operate:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The Huallaga faction, however, is thought to have been drastically weakened since the capture of its leader, Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala, alias "Comrade Artemio," in 2012. He was the last leader in the field who remained loyal to Guzman. Now there is no link between the rebels still in the field and the high commanders in prison.
The Huallaga faction, however, is thought to have been drastically weakened since the capture of its leader, Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala, alias "Comrade Artemio," in 2012. He was the last leader in the field who remained loyal to Guzman. Now there is no link between the rebels still in the field and the high commanders in prison.
A partir de la captura de la cúpula senderista en 1992, han existido varios procesos de ruptura y división en el seno de Sendero Luminoso, siendo la principal la que los dividiría en dos corrientes: "acuerdistas" y "proseguir". Los primeros están estrechamente ligados a su dirección y respaldaron el denominado "Acuerdo de Paz" en el que Abimael Guzmán hacía un llamado a dejar las armas y poner fin a la "Guerra Popular"; el segundo grupo desconoció este acuerdo político con el gobierno de Alberto Fujimori llamando a sus militantes a "proseguir" con las acciones armadas. Ambas fracciones continuarían teniendo divisiones y pugnas internas durante los años siguientes.
The Huallaga faction, however, is thought to have been drastically weakened since the capture of its leader, Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala, alias "Comrade Artemio," in 2012. He was the last leader in the field who remained loyal to Guzman. Now there is no link between the rebels still in the field and the high commanders in prison.
| Parliamentary parties | |
|---|---|
| Extra-parliamentary parties |
|
| Parties in process of registering | |
| Parties without registration |
|
| Active coalitions | |
| Defunct parties |
|
| Former coalitions |
|
.svg)
.svg)
