Abimael's Hard Drive

An agronomist engineer, former professor at the Universidad de Huamanga and congressman during the 1985–90 period, Carlos Tapia is recognized as one of the most thorough researchers of the subversive process. He recently completed a book titled "La estrategia antisubversiva y la derrota de Sendero Luminoso," which the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos will soon publish. Drawing on documentation seized from Sendero Luminoso, including manuscripts by Abimael Guzmán and data from the computer found in his hideout, Tapia provides an X-ray of the terrorist organization, concluding that, despite the havoc it wreaked on Peruvian society, it was in reality not as strong or as large as believed. Here are some excerpts from the book. Published on April 3, 1996.