Peru’s Terrorist Leader Abimael Guzman Dies in Prison at 86

(Bloomberg) -- Peru’s former terrorist leader Abimael Guzman, former head of Shining Path, died in prison where he was serving a life sentence, according to state media. He was 86 years old. 

Guzman was tried and convicted for terrorist activities during the 1980s, which led to the deaths of over 30,000 people, according to the nation’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee. 

“The terrorist leader Abimael Guzmán, responsible for the loss of countless lives of our compatriots, passed away. Our position condemning terrorism is firm and unswerving. Only in democracy will we build a Peru of justice and development for our people,” President Pedro Castillo tweeted hours later.

He was convicted to serve two life sentences at a maximum security detention center in El Callao Naval base prison after being captured in 1992.  

Guzman, a philosophy professor, founded the communist revolutionary organization Shining Path in 1969. It became known as Latin America’s bloodiest rebel group at the time.   

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.