Takeover of Dos de Mayo by Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path)
In November 1993, the PCP-Sendero Luminoso took the town of Dos de Mayo in the Huallabamba valley, dislodging the MRTA from this strategic zone linked to drug trafficking. The takeover was part of the Shining Path's expansion into northern San Martin.
Between 1991 and 1992, the PCP-Sendero Luminoso consolidated its new popular committees in the Bellavista area and formed a battalion on the banks of the Abiseo River with the objective of definitively taking Dos de Mayo. In November 1993, the Shining Path managed to take the town of Dos de Mayo, dislodging the MRTA from this strategic zone of the Huallabamba valley. The takeover was carried out with personnel from the open popular committees and Shining Path fighters. Dos de Mayo was considered a strategic zone for being potentially high for the drug business, with clandestine airstrips controlled by Colombian drug traffickers. This action was part of the Shining Path's strategy to expand into the north of the department of San Martin and displace the MRTA from its zones of influence.