Óscar Ramírez Durán (born 16 March 1953), commonly known as Comrade Feliciano, is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian convicted

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and former political leader who led the

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the gro ...

, a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist terrorist group in Peru, in the 1990s.

Biography

Ramírez is the son of a retired Peruvian general and the second of seven brothers. Being studious from a young age and enjoying mental challenges such as chess, Ramírez was awarded the medal of academic excellence from the College of Saint Francis of Assisi in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

, Peru.

Capture and imprisonment

Ramírez assumed control of the Shining Path after

Abimael Guzmán Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso (; 3 December 1934 − 11 September 2021), also known by his '' nom de guerre'' Chairman Gonzalo ( es, Presidente Gonzalo), was a Peruvian Maoist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, considered a terrorist ...

was captured by the authorities in 1992. Ramírez himself was captured in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He would be granted a retrial in 2004. In June 2006, Ramírez was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the crimes he committed during the

internal conflict in Peru The internal conflict in Peru is an ongoing armed conflict between the Government of Peru and the Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Maoist guerilla group Shining Path. The conflict began on 17 May 1980, and from 1982 to 1997 the Túpac Amaru Revolu ...

. He is currently being held at the naval base in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

. His reduced sentence was a result of his collaboration with Peruvian authorities and enmity with Guzmán: in 2003 he described him to the

Caretas ''Caretas'' (Masks) is a weekly newsmagazine published in Lima, Peru, renowned for its investigative journalism. History ''Caretas'' was founded in October 1950 by Doris Gibson and Francisco Igartua. In the mid-1950s, Gibson's son, Enrique Z ...

magazine as a "psychopath" and stated that "He (Guzmán) was always a coward and a traitor". He went as far as declaring, before the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

his renewed belief in democracy, his call for remaining subversives to lay down arms, his expectation for new civilian trials and his condolences for the victims of the conflict. Caretas has also published extracts from his conversations with the former head of the Peruvian National Intelligence Service,

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (born 20 May 1945) is a former long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, National Intelligence Service (SIN), under President Alberto Fujimori. In the year 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came ...

in which family links with the terrorist emerged, both being cousins. In March 2013, he testified in the trial of the recently imprisoned leader,

Comrade Artemio Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala (better known as Comrade Artemio; born 8 September 1961) is a former leader of the Peruvian Maoist group Shining Path. He was captured by a combined force of the Peruvian Army. Biography Flores went to high schoo ...

. During the audience, he apologized to the country for the crimes committed by Shining Path.

References

Living people 1953 births People convicted on terrorism charges People imprisoned for terrorism Peruvian criminals Peruvian communists Members of the Shining Path Peruvian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Peru Peruvian revolutionaries {{peru-bio-stub