Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

Peruvian population in border areas. The Government of Peru sought to cooperate with the
Government of Colombia on ways to combat the FARC’s presence in under-governed areas of
the border region.
2012 Terrorist Incidents: SL carried out 87 terrorist acts that killed one civilian, 13 members of
the military, and five police officers. The attacks included:
On April 9, an SL-VRAEM group kidnapped 36 workers from the Camisea natural gas
pipeline just outside the VRAEM emergency zone. In several failed rescue attempts, a
total of eight security personnel were killed, 10 others were wounded, and a U.S.-owned
helicopter operated by the police was destroyed. On April 14, all 36 workers were
released unharmed. Some analysts claimed the Government of Peru or the pipeline
operator paid a US $5 million ransom, an assertion strongly refuted by both.
On June 6, SL-VRAEM members briefly seized 18 Camisea pipeline workers from an
area six kilometers away from the April kidnapping incident. SL spray-painted
revolutionary slogans on the workers' helicopters, delivered a communiqué, and released
the hostages unharmed.
On August 15, SL ambushed a 32-man Peruvian army patrol in a remote part of the
VRAEM near the counterterrorism base of Mazangaro. The attackers killed five soldiers
and wounded six others in the deadliest single attack since 2009.
On September 7, SL terrorists used explosives to damage an above-ground valve on the
Camisea gas pipeline near Kepashiato. When a Peruvian Army helicopter approached the
valve site to verify the level of damage, ground-based snipers shot and killed a soldier
aboard the helicopter.
On October 6, members of SL-VRAEM blew up three commercial helicopters
subcontracted by the Camisea natural gas pipeline operator. The helicopters were located
in Echarate, a district in the region of Cusco. The SL combatants delivered a
communiqué stating the pipeline operators had failed to pay a "war tax."
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Peru’s Congress passed a bill in January
banning convicted terrorists on parole from traveling abroad. President Humala continued
reauthorizing 60-day states of emergency in parts of seven regions where SL operated, giving the
armed forces and police additional authority to maintain public order.
Immigration authorities collected no biometric information from visitors. Citizens of neighboring
countries were allowed to travel to Peru by land using national identification cards in lieu of
passports. There was no visa requirement for citizens of most countries in Western, Central, and
Eastern Europe and the visa requirement for Mexican nationals was abolished. Peruvian
immigration used a database called “Movimiento Migratorio” at five points of entry to track
entries and exits of travelers, but the database was limited to Interpol and a local database that
tracks outstanding warrants. Peruvian immigration did not have access to Passenger Name
Record data or a terrorist watch list.
Police detained 233 suspected terrorists during the year. Besides the February capture of
“Comrade Artemio,” significant law enforcement action included:
191