PERU: SHINING PATH BLAMED FOR ATTACK ON POLICE

UNCLAS LIMA 001876 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER SNAR ASEC PE SUBJECT: PERU: SHINING PATH BLAMED FOR ATTACK ON POLICE REF: A. 07 LIMA 3707 ¶B. LIMA 1678 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Peruvian National Police (PNP) suspect that Shining Path forces in the Upper Huallaga Valley (SL-UHV) ambushed a police convoy November 26, killing five and injuring four others. Observers speculate the attack may have been retribution to earlier drug seizures by police in the area and/or revenge for the killing of senior SL-UHV leader Epifanio Espiritu Acosta (aka "Comrade JL") a year ago to the day. Analysts are divided about whether SL-UHV has now recuperated from the severe blows it took in 2007 or, more hopefully, SL-UHV leader "Artemio" is on the defensive. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Unidentified attackers ambushed a PNP convoy November 26, killing five police and wounding four others. The ambush occurred on the highway some 20 kilometers north of Tingo Maria at approximately 4:00 p.m. The PNP officer leading the group told Emboffs December 3 that, recognizing his vulnerability in that stretch of highway, he had commanded his vehicles to proceed through at full speed. While the attackers succeeded in disabling two of the three convoy vehicles, he said, the police were able to return fire. The firefight ended when a tourist bus entered the scene, and the attackers began to flee, according to the officer. Police recovered a variety of items the attackers left behind, including improvised explosive devices. ¶3. (SBU) Police told reporters the gunmen had waited in place for up to two days before the attack, allowing at least two other patrols to pass in the meantime. That assertion has led some observers to speculate whether the attackers specifically targeted the ambushed group, perhaps in response to seizures the same patrol had made the week before. The date of the attack marked the one-year anniversary of the PNP's killing of senior SL-UHV leader Epifanio Espiritu Acosta (aka "Comrade JL") in November 2007 (ref A). Some analysts suggest the timing may have been a deliberate act of revenge for that killing. PNP officials have attributed the attack to "narcoterrorists", i.e., Sendero Luminoso. ¶4. (SBU) This attack is the first in the UHV since the October 14 shooting of two PNP officers (ref B),which was the first of the year in the UHV against state forces. (During the past months, there have been other attacks, conducted by a separate SL faction, in the emergency VRAE zone.) Analysts are considering now whether two attacks in the area in as many months indicates that SL-UHV has recuperated and rebuilt following the severe blows it took in 2007 or, more hopefully, that SL-UHV leader "Artemio" is on the defensive and fighting to protect his remaining interests. The bottom line though is that the two Sendero organizations have killed a combined 25 police and military since the beginning of October -- a significant escalation of activity. NEALON