Lima, Peru — A leader of the Shining Path, the dwindling guerrilla group that terrorized Peru in the 1980s and early 90s, has been captured, the army announced Sunday.
Dalton Zuniga, known as "Comrade Alipio," was arrested Saturday by an army patrol in Cusco province, about 220 miles southeast of Lima, the capital.
The army did not reveal the circumstances of the capture, but Zuniga is believed to have been leading a column of about 60 guerrillas who were hiding in nearby jungle, under constant pursuit by security forces.
Authorities believe Zuniga led the Shining Path's most recent major undertaking in October 1999, when a band of rebels attacked a military helicopter, killing four officers and another soldier.
In the late 1980s and early '90s the Shining Path almost brought the Peruvian government to its knees, assassinating mayors and informers in the countryside and waging a vicious car-bombing campaign in Lima.
But the Maoist-inspired movement suffered a severe blow with the capture of its national leader, Oscar Ramirez Durand in July 1999. Durand is now serving a life sentence at a maximum-security naval prison, along with Shining Path founder Abimael Guzman, who was arrested in Lima in 1992.
Since Durand's arrest, the Shining Path has been reduced to few bands that operate in Peru's eastern jungle provinces. Zuniga is believed to command units in the Apurimac River valley and surrounding areas.
Last month a band of suspected Shining Path guerrillas attacked an army helicopter in the valley, killing one soldier and leaving another wounded. The Feb. 17 incident led the military to step up counter-subversive activities in the area to track down Zuniga.
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