Andina

Peru: Police detain ringleader linked to Shining Path terrorist group

Photo: Ministry of Interior of Peru

Photo: Ministry of Interior of Peru

10:00 | Ayacucho (Ayacucho region), Jan. 13.

Peruvian National Police (PNP) agents and Public Ministry special prosecutors, sent from Lima, preliminarily detained Ayacucho People's Defense Front (Fredepa) Chairwoman Rocio Leandro Melgar —also known as "Comrade Cusi"— at the Home of Teachers building in the city of Ayacucho, Huamanga province.

Leandro Melgar was part of the terrorist organization Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path).

She had been arrested and imprisoned for having participated in attacks in the 1980s and 1990s, according to reports from the National Police of Peru's Directorate against Terrorism (Dircote).

Along with "Comrade Cusi," Fredepa Deputy Chairwoman, Stefany Alanya Chumbes, and said organization's secretary, Alejandro Manay Pillaca, were detained.

It should be noted that Dircote agents and members of the VIII Macro Police Region of Ayacucho participated in this operation.

The detainees were transferred to the Ayacucho Police Station, where some people arrived criticizing what had occurred. As a precaution, a police contingent guarded the place to avoid disorderly behavior.

According to the Ministry of Interior, "Comrade Cusi" will be transferred to the Peruvian capital, Lima, aboard a Police Aviation Directorate (Diravpol) airplane.

(END) JCR/MVB

Publicado: 13/1/2023