Peru sentences Shining Path leader to second life term

Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala, the former leader of the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) known as ‘Camarada Artemio’, has been sentenced to a second life imprisonment by a Peruvian court. The Third National Transitional Liquidation Superior Criminal Chamber found him guilty of terrorism for ordering four armed ambushes against members of the Peruvian Army in 1996.

The attacks took place in the province of Tocache, located in the San Martín region. The court ruled that Flores acted as an indirect perpetrator of these crimes against public tranquility. In addition to the life sentence, the court ordered him to pay 20,000 soles in reparations to the Peruvian state.

Flores, who was captured in 2012 after 28 years in hiding, is already serving a life sentence handed down in 2013 for terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering. His capture was considered a key step in pacifying the Alto Huallaga region, a major stronghold for the insurgent group during Peru's internal armed conflict.