Shining Path Is in the Vraem Because Fujimori Dismantled the GEIN That Captured Abimael

PNP generals Carlos Morán Soto and Claudio Tello Benites, and PNP commander Guillermo Bonilla Arévalo — officers who participated in "The Capture of the Century" — recount details about the arrest of the Senderista leader who was captured 21 years ago without a single shot being fired. After the detention of Abimael Guzmán, President Alberto Fujimori and his advisor Vladimiro Montesinos — who had played no role whatsoever in the apprehension of Guzmán — disbanded the GEIN and reassigned its chiefs and several agents. The decision proved counterproductive. Sendero Luminoso seized the opportunity to regroup, especially in what was known as the Main Regional Committee, covering the departments of Ayacucho, Apurímac, Huancavelica, and Junín — the territory under the control of brothers Víctor, Jorge, and Martín Quispe Palomino, the current terrorist ringleaders in the Vraem.