Murder of Antonio Cajachagua Leiva
Antonio Cajachagua Leiva, general secretary of the Morococha miners' union, was shot in the head as he was leaving an assembly. His colleagues attributed the murder to the Shining Path because of his opposition to the strikes.
On May 7, 1989, as he was leaving an assembly, Antonio Cajachagua Leiva, general secretary of the Morococha mine workers' union, was shot in the head and killed. His former colleagues state that he was also against the strikes and attributed the assassination to the Shining Path. This murder took place in a context of intense attacks by the PCP-SL against Centromín Perú's facilities in Morococha, including the dynamiting of industrial relations offices and air pipes just a month earlier. The assassination was part of a series of executions of union leaders who opposed the strikes and stoppages promoted by Sendero Luminoso in the mining centers of the central region.