The Shining Path guerrillas are attempting to move into the shantytowns surrounding Lima, especially Huaycan, which lies along near the Central Highway, a strategic route through the main industrial zone. In an interview with Radio Nacional de Colombia, Mr. Castro said that he had been told by his intelligence chief, Gen. Raúl Baduel, that “guerrilla groups have infiltrated some of these areas.” Believed to have only about 5,000 armed combatants, the group has struck in the mountains, worked with drug traffickers in the jungle, and bought weapons with profits. Founded by Guzman, a Marxist philosophy professor, the group grew in the Indian community, long persecuted by the ruling elite.
The Shining Path guerrillas are attempting to move into the shantytowns surrounding Lima, especially Huaycan, which lies along near the Central Highway, a strategic route through the main industrial zone. For the last 18 months, the Shining Path has been taking a more public role in the slums, labor unions, and student groups, and with its newspaper "El Diario". Believed to have only about 5,000 armed combatants, the group has struck in the mountains, worked with drug traffickers in the jungle, and bought weapons with profits. Founded by Guzman, a Marxist philosophy professor, the group grew in the Indian community, long persecuted by the ruling elite.