His Turn to Lose

The capture of Abimael Guzman has decapitated the Shining Path revolution, but the world's most brutal guerrilla group vows to continue its bloody campaign

Abimael Guzman was a successful revolutionary because he never flinched: he was willing to destroy Peru and as many innocent Peruvians as necessary to gain power. His Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path, movement, perhaps the most radical leftist insurgency still in operation anywhere in the world, sowed terror throughout the country during a 12-year campaign that took 25,000 lives, damaged $22 billion worth of property and left some Peruvians fearing that his "forces of history" might achieve victory. That is, until last week -- when Guzman was captured by government forces in a bloodless raid on a modest house in one...

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