Intervention of the Armed Forces in Ayacucho

In December 1982, the Armed Forces intervened in the internal armed conflict in the department of Ayacucho. Political-military commands were established which concentrated extraordinary powers in relation to the control of internal order. The initial action was mainly reactive and subordinated to the initiative of Sendero Luminoso. The immediate result was an abdication of civilian power in the emergency zones and a radical escalation of the conflict that accentuated the human costs to an extent that would never be equaled in the rest of the period of violence.