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Terrorism in Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Dora H. Barrientos Hernandez  and
Adam L. Church
Dora H. Barrientos Hernandez
Affiliation:
Hospital IV 2 De Mayo, Lima, Peru
Adam L. Church*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, North Shore University Hospital Manhasset, NY, USA
*
59 Mill Spring Rd, Manhasset, NY 11030, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Two major domestic terrorist groups have plagued Peru over the past 20 years, the Sendero Luminoso or “Shining Path” (SL) and the Revolutionary Movement Túpac Amaru (MRTA). On 28 August 2003, the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported that an estimated 69,280 persons were killed in the internal conflict in Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of the victims were farmers (56%), most attacks occurred in rural settings (79%), and the SL was responsible for mostof the deaths (54%). Aggressive anti-terrorism efforts by police and military during this period, often at the expense of basic human rights, also contributed to this large burden of terrorism on Peru. During the 1990s, terrorist attacks in Peru had spread to its urban areas. On 17 December 1996, 22 members of MRTA took over the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, holding 72 hostages until the grounds were stormed by Peruvian special forces on 23 April 1997.

Until recently, emergency planning and preparedness for terrorism-related events in Peru were largely underdeveloped. In the last five years, Peru has taken two key steps towards developing a mature emergency response system, with the establishment of the country's first emergency medicine residency training program and the construction of the first dedicated trauma center in Lima.

Keywords

bombingdeathemergency medicineemergency responsePerutraumaterrorism
Type
Special Reports
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 18 , Special Issue 2: Terrorism-I: Country Reports , June 2003 , pp. 123 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2003

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References

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