Intensification of hiker actions in Apurimac
In 1986-1987, the Shining Path intensified its actions in the Apurimac River valley, increasing pressure on peasant communities to achieve greater participation and move towards a 'strategic balance', unleashing a new wave of violence.
Between 1986 and 1987, at the height of the boom in the links between coca leaf producers and drug-trafficking buyers, the Shining Path columns intensified their actions in Apurímac. This intensification would help, according to PCP-SL claims, to enter a new and superior stage called 'strategic balance'. This second stage of the war required a greater participation of the peasantry, so the pressure on the peasant communities increased and a new wave of violence was unleashed. The PCP-SL enlisted the necessary 'masses' for its attacks on villages where the Self-Defense Committees (CAD's) were installed.