VOA常速英语:Terrorist Front Leaders Arrested In Peru

The United States commends the Peruvian government for the recent arrest of at least 28 alleged members of the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights, or Movadef, a front organization for the Shining Path terrorist group. The Shining Path has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.

The 28 Movadef members are facing charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and financing terrorism with money from drug trafficking. According to Peruvian authorities, those arrested include Manuel Fajardo, Movadef’s secretary general, and Alfredo Crespo, Movadef’s deputy secretary general.

Abimael Guzman, the founder of the Shining Path, led a brutal campaign of violence in the 1980s and early 1990s aimed at overthrowing the Peruvian government. Some 70,000 Peruvians were killed.

Several important leaders of the Shining Path’s jungle factions have been killed or captured since Peruvian President Ollanta Humala [oh-YAHN-tah oo-MAH-lah] came to office in 2011.

President Humala’s successful campaign against Movadef demonstrates an admirable commitment to respect for the rule of law and human rights, to patient and persistent criminal investigation work, and an effective whole-of-government approach featuring coordination among judicial, police, armed forces and intelligence agencies.