Peru Targets the Remnants of Shining Path

The Peruvian military announced in late April that it would conduct an operation against the militant group Shining Path in the Apurimac and Ene River Valley (VRAE). The operation was announced as a response to the group's April 9 kidnapping of 36 workers associated with the country's Camisea natural gas project, which is run by a consortium of energy companies led by Argentina's Pluspetrol. Although initial reports said the military planned to move civilians and send thousands of troops to subdue the area, very little news has come out of the valley in the past two weeks. Peruvian Vice President Marisol Espinoza has said a campaign is under way but is being conducted very quietly.

The challenge for Peruvian security forces is to protect important economic infrastructure while combating Shining Path militants who are fighting within their own territory and are deeply enmeshed in the local population. Though recent successes against the Shining Path in northern Peru's Alto Huallaga River Valley have demonstrated the capabilities of the Peruvian national police against the militants, the overlapping geography of the coca-growing VRAE with the natural gas infrastructure of the Camisea project raises the stakes for Peru and could push Peru to seek closer security coordination with the United States or Colombia.