A boy from the religious mission located in Puerto Ocopa, Satipo, displays a large scar made by a terrorist commander

A child from the religious mission located in Puerto Ocopa, Satipo, displays a large scar made by a terrorist commander while he was living in a Sendero Luminoso militia. Puerto Ocopa is the capital of the district of Río Tambo in the province of Satipo. This native community is characterized by a significant presence of the Catholic Church through Franciscan missionaries. Sendero Luminoso took control of the province of Satipo at the end of 1987, and this community served as the gateway to the district and the Tambo river, making it of particular interest for settlement. Sendero Luminoso intimidated and threatened those who refused to commit, managing to recruit Asháninka families. The Sinchis and later the Army tried to contain the advance of the subversives in the province of Satipo without achieving significant results. This situation changed in 1991 when the Army urged the population to organize into counter-subversive patrols. During these years, Puerto Ocopa became a community that received hundreds of families who had fled from Sendero Luminoso or had been rescued during patrols. Conditions of overcrowding, isolation, and scarcity of resources made survival difficult in the refuge communities.