Murders in Hualay

In 1987, in the town of Hualay, province of Huamachuco (Sánchez Carrión), a group of PCP-Sendero Luminoso militants executed the president of the Rondas Campesinas, his wife and the Lieutenant Governor. This attack was part of the Shining Path's strategy to harass and eliminate local authorities and leaders who opposed their presence or who organized resistance in the communities. The Rondas Campesinas represented a threat to the territorial control of the PCP-SL, so their leaders were priority targets for subversive attacks. This fact illustrates the selective violence exercised against those who tried to organize community defense in the region.