Comrade Artemio
Encyclopedia
Comrade Artemio is the alias of the man believed by many to be the current leader of the Shining Path
, a Maoist
guerrilla
group in Peru
. While Artemio's real name is unknown, former Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Fernando Rospigliosi, claims Artemio has an identification card under the false name
of José Flórez León, which would provide a mugshot of Artemio. The United States
CIA
World Factbook
lists his true identity as Gabriel Macario. Along with Comrade Alipio
, he is one of the highest-ranking members of the Shining Path who have not been imprisoned or killed.
Very little is known about Comrade Artemio. He has appeared on video tapes, but always wearing a ski mask, often with an extra piece of cloth sewed on to hide his eyes. Messages supposed to have been written by him make the claim that he is only the regional commander of the Shining Path for the Huallaga Valley
, implying that he is not the leader of the entire movement. This might be because he takes the imprisoned former leaders (Abimael Guzmán
and Óscar Ramírez Durand
) to be the true leaders and doesn't believe their orders for the Shining Path to lay down its arms.
On September 26, 2006, a news crew from the television show Panorama interviewed Artemio in a jungle base established by Shining Path. They also filmed about 50 Shining Path militants, all of whom were masked. Artemio demanded that the Peruvian government grant amnesty to imprisoned Shining Path members and open a peace dialogue with the remaining Shining Path members. Days after the report, the National Police raided the site where Artemio gave the interview. Some Shining Path members were arrested, but Artemio was not. In November, 2007, police claimed to have killed Artemio's second-in-command, a guerrilla known as JL.
In September, 2008, Artemio gave his first recorded interview since 2006. In it he stated that the Shining Path would continue to fight despite escalating military pressure.
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
, a Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
group in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. While Artemio's real name is unknown, former Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Fernando Rospigliosi, claims Artemio has an identification card under the false name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of José Flórez León, which would provide a mugshot of Artemio. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
World Factbook
The World Factbook
The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official paper copy version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office...
lists his true identity as Gabriel Macario. Along with Comrade Alipio
Comrade Alipio
Comrade Alipio is a Shining Path commander and, along with Comrade Artemio, one of the highest-ranking members of the Shining Path who has not been imprisoned or killed. Comrade Alipio's birth name is thought to be Leonardo Huamán Zúñiga or Ronaldo Huamán Zúñiga.-References:...
, he is one of the highest-ranking members of the Shining Path who have not been imprisoned or killed.
Very little is known about Comrade Artemio. He has appeared on video tapes, but always wearing a ski mask, often with an extra piece of cloth sewed on to hide his eyes. Messages supposed to have been written by him make the claim that he is only the regional commander of the Shining Path for the Huallaga Valley
Huallaga Valley
The Huallaga Valley is located in northern Peru, south of Tarapoto. It follows the Huallaga River.-Coca:Since the 1980s, the primary coca growing and drug trafficking activities in Peru have been in the Upper Huallaga Valley...
, implying that he is not the leader of the entire movement. This might be because he takes the imprisoned former leaders (Abimael Guzmán
Abimael Guzmán
Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso , also known by the nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo , a former professor of philosophy, was the leader of the Shining Path during the Maoist insurgency known as the internal conflict in Peru...
and Óscar Ramírez Durand
Óscar Ramírez
Óscar Ramírez Durand , who is commonly known as Comrade Feliciano, was one of the leaders of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla movement in Peru....
) to be the true leaders and doesn't believe their orders for the Shining Path to lay down its arms.
On September 26, 2006, a news crew from the television show Panorama interviewed Artemio in a jungle base established by Shining Path. They also filmed about 50 Shining Path militants, all of whom were masked. Artemio demanded that the Peruvian government grant amnesty to imprisoned Shining Path members and open a peace dialogue with the remaining Shining Path members. Days after the report, the National Police raided the site where Artemio gave the interview. Some Shining Path members were arrested, but Artemio was not. In November, 2007, police claimed to have killed Artemio's second-in-command, a guerrilla known as JL.
In September, 2008, Artemio gave his first recorded interview since 2006. In it he stated that the Shining Path would continue to fight despite escalating military pressure.