The
Shining Path, or the
Communist Party of Peru for the Shining Path of Jose Carlos Mariategui, is one of the most
radical and
violent of the many
left wing terrorist groups in the world. They claim to be
Marxists, however, they are really
Maoists, favoring a
peasant-run
socialist economy instead of one led by a corps of
urban cadres. They have been responsible for over 25,000
murders since they began operating in 1980.
Their actions include assasinations, bombings, raids, and other ultraviolent activities. They were the group responsible for the siege at the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru a few years back. Not a single terrorist survived that episode.
Their organization has been under attack recently, with the capture of various Shining Path leaders. Their founder, Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, was arrested in 1992 and is serving a life sentence in a special prison. He was an "intellectual", while being a Maoist, also envied other communist models, including Stalinist Russia and even the Cambodian Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.
Their funds come from various sources, from South American drug kingpins to robbery. Shining Path terrorists would enter a rural Peruvian town, kill all the shopkeepers (in the name of Marxism, of course), and steal all their possessions.
By the way, Rage Against the Machine gave money to these murderers.