Clandestine meeting of authorities in Chongos Alto
Clandestine meeting of authorities and inhabitants of six communities of the Canipaco Valley in Chongos Alto to plan defense actions against the PCP-SL. This meeting preceded the massacre of April 12, 1989.
On April 11, 1989, the day of the weekly fair in the district of Chongos Alto, authorities and residents representing the communities of Chinche, Chongos Alto, Llamapsillón, Palaco, Vista Alegre and Palmayoc met clandestinely somewhere in this district with the purpose of planning defense actions against the presence of the PCP-SL in the area. In the early morning of the following day (April 12) they were to return to their places of 'security', since many authorities who lived in the communities of the Canipaco Valley had migrated for security reasons to districts near the city of Huancayo, places where there was police or army presence. This meeting preceded the April 12 massacre, considered the most shocking in the entire Canipaco area. Some villagers were able to observe the hikers on their way to Chicche the following day, and claim that most of them were wearing the typical clothing of the "highlanders" and that only 15 people were armed.