Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

On July 5, security forces rescued 11 children from an SL camp in the VRAEM. The
children, called "little pioneers," were allegedly being indoctrinated into the Shining Path.
Eleven SL terrorists were also captured.
On September 5, Peruvian security forces killed the second-most-senior military
commander of the SL-VRAEM faction, Victor Hugo Castro Ramirez alias "Comrade
William." President Humala characterized his death as a "major blow" against SL.
SL founder and leader Abimael Guzman and key accomplices remained in prison serving life
sentences stemming from crimes committed in the 1980s and 1990s. About 600 people remained
in prison on terrorism charges or convictions.
Peru continued to participate in the Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance program,
which provided several courses designed to build capacity in border security, terrorism-related
investigations, and the role of police leadership in counterterrorism efforts.
Countering Terrorist Finance: Peru is a member of the Financial Action Task Force of South
America against Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. In
October, Peru’s Congress passed law 25.475, making terrorist financing a separate crime
punishable by up to 35 years in prison. The Government of Peru took several additional steps to
implement the May 2011 “National Plan to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist
Financing.” This included two pieces of legislation revamping asset forfeiture and anti-money
laundering laws, both containing terrorist finance components. The passage of these two
legislative decrees achieved the majority of the legislative reform benchmarks set in the National
Plan.
Legislative Decree 1106, “Legislation to Fight against Money Laundering and other crimes
linked with Illegal Mining and Organized Crime,” empowers the Financial Intelligence Unit and
the Superintendent of Banks, Insurance, and Pension Funds to freeze bank accounts in cases
linked to money laundering or terrorist financing within 24 hours after a judge’s approval.
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network continued to suspend cooperation with the
FIU, because of a leak of sensitive information published by the Peruvian press in April 2011.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and
Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: Peru was an active member of the OAS and
participated in the OAS Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism training and other events.
Peru held the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations beginning June 29.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Peru has a stated goal of increasing state
presence in emergency zones with the hope that such presence will be a deterrent to
radicalization. The official position of the National Penitentiary Institute is that prison is meant
to rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners, especially terrorists. A psychological evaluation is
required of incarcerated terrorists before parole can be granted. Many observers have expressed
concern that the program is ineffective and that many convicted terrorists are not rehabilitated,
192