San Miguel del Ene attack

The San Miguel del Ene attack was a massacre on 23 May 2021 in San Miguel del Ene, a rural area in the Vizcatán del Ene District of Satipo Province in Peru, in which 18 people were killed. The massacre was most likely perpetrated by the Militarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP), a split of the Maoist terrorist organization Shining Path.[1][2] The attack occurred in the Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro (VRAEM) conflict region, where the group operates.[3][4]

San Miguel Del Ene attack
Part of the internal conflict in Peru
San Miguel del Ene is located in Peru
San Miguel del Ene
San Miguel del Ene
Location of San Miguel del Ene in Peru
LocationSan Miguel del Ene, Vizcatán del Ene district, Peru
Coordinates12°11′20″S 74°01′33″W
Date23 May 2021 (23 May 2021)
Around 22:00 (UTC−05:00)
TargetCivilians
Attack type
Mass shooting
WeaponsFirearms
Deaths18
PerpetratorMilitarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP; split of Shining Path)
(disputed)

Background
Comrade Vilma in 2018

Groups in VRAEM killed four family members in March 2021 in Huarcatán, accusing them of being police informers.[4][5]

On 14 May, three weeks before the run-off vote in the 2021 presidential election, Comrade Vilma – who has close ties to Comrade José, head of the Militarized Communist Party of Peru – called for a boycott of the elections, specifically naming Keiko Fujimori and stating that anyone who voted for her would be an "accomplice in genocide and corruption". She had also made a similar call prior to the first round of the election, in which she criticized almost all the candidates but singled out Fujimori and Ollanta Humala as "direct enemies" of her organization.[6]

Motives

According to the leaflets found in the attack location, the perpetrators call upon to "clean VRAEM and Peru" of outcasts, "parasites and corrupts" as well as "homosexuals, lesbians, drug addicts" and "thieves".[7]

Investigation
MPCP leaflet seized by the National Police of Peru dated 10 May 2021 and calling for a campaign of social cleansing.

The attack, which took place around 22:00 local time (UTC−05) on 23 May,[8] was confirmed by general César Cervantes, commander general of the National Police of Peru, who informed about the mass shooting deaths of ten men, six women and two minors in a red-light zone bar in the locality.[9][10] The Armed Forces of Peru released a statement prior to any investigations, naming Shining Path as the perpetrator, spreading confusion as the group had been long dissolved.[2] The Ministry of Defense would later say the attack was perpetrated by the Shining Path faction led by Comrade José. It gave the death toll of 14 people.[4][11] The National Police cautioned that responsibility should be assigned following a full investigation.[2] Along with the corpses, some of which were burned, leaflets signed by the MPCP were reportedly found, featuring the hammer and sickle and defining the attack as a social cleansing operation.[9][10] The leaflets also called for a boycott of the 6 June election, accusing of treason those who voted for Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing party Popular Force.[9][10] The first analysis by the Counter Terrorism Directorate concluded with the preliminary result that the leaflets could have the characteristics of the language used by Shining Path.[12][13]

Peruvian investigative journalism website OjoPúblico interviewed a survivor that that the attackers were dressed in plainclothes and fired without making subversive statement.[14][2] According to Jo-Marie Burt, the hurried manner in which the military and media in Peru described the attack as being perpetrated by Shining Path was an attempt to attack opposition to the conservative political establishment through an appeal to fear, especially using the terruqueo attack.[2] OjoPúblico described the media release by the military as "an inaccurate reference to the Shining Path."[15]

The Public Prosecution Service announced that the Huánuco and Selva Central Prosecutor Office specialized in crimes of terrorism and against humanity would take charge of the investigation and that the National Police would carry out the autopsies of the burned bodies, which would later be transferred to the Pichari District morgue.[16]

Reactions

Keiko Fujimori, presidential candidate of Popular Force, expressed categorical condemnation against the attack during a press conference in Tarapoto, as well as regret that "bloody acts" still happened in the country and her condolences to the relatives of the victims.[17] Fujimori would go on to attempt to link Castillo to the attack.[2]

Pedro Castillo, presidential candidate of Free Peru, expressed regret towards the events during a rally in Huánuco and solidarity towards the relatives of the victims. Castillo also urged the National Police to investigate the attack to clarify the events.[18] Vladimir Cerrón, Secretary General of Free Peru, published a tweet saying that "the right-wing needed [Shining] Path to win". Cerrón deleted the tweet moments later, questioning afterwards which one of the ideologies needed the terrorist group to win and condemning any act of terrorism.[19]

Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez and Defense Minister Nuria Esparch condemned the attack and guaranteed that the electoral process would take place normally.[20] The Episcopal Conference of Peru also joined to express its condemnation.[21]

See also
  • Hatun Asha ambush, a Shining Path attack on the military in the province of Huancayo during the 2016 general election

References
  1. "Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas: Sendero Luminoso asesinó a 14 personas en el Vraem". Gestion.pe. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. Burt, Jo-Marie (5 June 2021). "Peru's military say Shining Path insurgents killed 16 civilians. Others are not so sure". The Washington Post.
  3. "Presunto ataque terrorista deja al menos 18 muertos en la selva central de Perú". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  4. "Asesinadas 18 personas en un posible ataque de Sendero Luminoso". www.europapress.es. Europa Press. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. RPP (26 March 2021). "Ayacucho: Asesinan a cuatro integrantes de una familia en una incursión terrorista". www.rpp.pe. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  6. Caretas (14 May 2021). "La peligrosa "camarada Vilma"". www.caretas.pe. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  7. "Atentado en Vraem: panfletos hallados en zona de ataque terrorista llaman a boicotear las elecciones". El Comercio (in Spanish). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. Andina (24 May 2021). "Jefe de Policía Nacional confirma muerte de 18 personas en el Vraem". andina.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  9. "Vraem: 18 personas fueron asesinadas por miembros de Sendero Luminoso". El Comercio (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  10. "Al menos 14 personas mueren en Perú en un ataque que las autoridades atribuyen a Sendero Luminoso" (in Spanish). BBC News Mundo. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  11. Agurto, Ego (24 May 2021). "Sendero Luminoso asesinó a 14 personas en el VRAEM, informó el Comando Conjunto de las FFAA". RPP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  12. "18 muertos por ataque en centro poblado San Miguel del Ene, en Perú". CNN (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. "Vraem: PNP confirma que 18 personas fueron asesinadas en el centro poblado San Miguel del Ene". TVPerú (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  14. "Violencia en el valle de la droga: grupo narcoterrorista de 'José' es acusado de acribillar a 16 personas". OjoPúblico (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. Zapata, Ralph (24 May 2021). "Violencia en el valle de la droga: grupo narcoterrorista de 'José' es acusado de acribillar a 16 personas". OjoPúblico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  16. Castillo, Sophia (24 May 2021). "VRAEM: Fiscalía inicia las investigaciones por "la muerte de 18 personas en un presunto ataque terrorista"". RPP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  17. "Keiko Fujimori sobre el atentado en el Vraem: "Lamento profundamente que nuevamente actos sangrientos estén ocurriendo en nuestro país"". El Comercio (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. Castillo, Sophia (24 May 2021). "Pedro Castillo sobre ataque en el VRAEM: "Insto a la Policía a que haga investigaciones inmediatas"". RPP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  19. "Vladimir Cerrón afirmó que "la derecha necesita de Sendero para ganar"". Caretas (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  20. Chavez, Adriana (24 May 2021). "Presidenta del Consejo de Ministros y Ministra de Defensa condenan atentado en el Vraem: "No quedará impune"". RPP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  21. Agurto, Ego (24 May 2021). "Conferencia Episcopal Peruana condena asesinato de 14 personas en el Vraem: "Nunca más al terrorismo"". RPP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
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