11:45 | Lima, Feb. 25 (ANDINA).
Peru must now focus on the fight against drug trafficking after the capture and future trial of terrorist ‘Artemio’, Senior Associate with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Coletta Youngers, said Saturday.
Youngers noted that the capture of terrorist leader Eleuterio Flores, aka ‘Artemio’ is a “significant blow” for the remnants of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist group, but not necessarily for all drug trafficking operating in some areas of the Peruvian jungle.
“This is an important achievement as it is about the capture of the last original leader of Shining Path who was still free. His capture is a significant blow for terrorism,” the WOLA representative told Andina news agency.
Youngers, an expert in Peru’s social and political reality, said that now the most important thing is to defeat drug trafficking, especially in the Valleys of Apurimac and Ene rivers (VRAE), where remnants of terrorism are involved in the production and trafficking of drugs.
Peru has started the implementation of a new anti-drug strategy which aims to reduce the illegal cultivation of coca leaves and attack money laundering and interdiction, but strengthening social development in coca growing areas.
(END) JCP/GCO/LGV
Publicado: 25/2/2012