Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala (better known as Comrade Artemio; born 8 September 1961) is a former leader of the Peruvian

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

group

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

. He was captured by a combined force of the

Peruvian Army The Peruvian Army ( es, Ejército del Perú, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missi ...

Biography

Flores went to high school in Camana, Camana Province, Arequipa Department. He served in the Peruvian Army in the 221 Tank Battalion in Locumba, Tacna in 1979. He ended his service in December 1980. His face appears in the August 1989 video where Comrade Gonzalo appears dancing "Zorba the Greek" with all the Shining Path high command. Very little was known about Comrade Artemio. He has appeared on video tapes, but always wearing a ski mask, often with an extra piece of cloth sewed on to hide his eyes. Messages supposed to have been written by him make the claim that he is only the regional commander of the Shining Path for the Huallaga Valley, implying that he is not the leader of the entire movement. On 26 September 2006, a news crew from the television show '' Panorama'' interviewed Artemio in a jungle base established by Shining Path. They also filmed about 50 Shining Path militants, all of whom were masked. Artemio demanded that the Peruvian government grant amnesty to imprisoned Shining Path members and open a peace dialogue with the remaining Shining Path members. Days after the report, the National Police raided the site where Artemio gave the interview. Some Shining Path members were arrested, but Artemio was not. In November 2007, police claimed to have killed Artemio's second-in-command, a guerrilla known as JL. In September 2008, Artemio gave his first recorded interview since 2006. In it he stated that the Shining Path would continue to fight despite escalating military pressure. On 7 December 2011, it was reported that 'Comrade Artemio' had admitted that the Shining Path were defeated. He is said to have offered 'dialogue' with the government regarding disarmament. The next day, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' released an interview with "Comrade Artemio," identified as Florindo Eleuterio Flores-Hala. Flores-Hala admitted "mistakes" in continuing the Shining Path's war effort, and said he was ready to negotiate terms with the Peruvian government. On 12 February 2012, Artemio was captured by a combined force of the Peruvian Army and the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

. Doctors removed two bullets from his stomach. On 7 June 2013 Artemio was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay 500 million soles in civil reparations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artemio, Comrade Living people 1961 births Peruvian communists Peruvian revolutionaries Peruvian criminals Members of the Shining Path