Comrade José (''Camarada José'',

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

of Víctor Quispe Palomino; born 1 August 1960) is a Peruvian communist militant, leader of the

Militarized Communist Party of Peru The Militarized Communist Party of Peru (, MPCP; formerly known as SL-Proseguir) is a militant group in Peru that follows Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and participates in the communist insurgency in Peru. It is considered a terrorist organiz ...

, an offshoot of the Marxist–Leninist–Maoist guerrilla

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 Commu ...

. The group is present in the VRAEM region. By late November 2007, DIRCOTE had identified Quispe Palomino as one of the ten most wanted terrorists in the Apurimac and Ene River Valley (VRAE). In 2008 it was reported that captured Shining Path documents showed that Comrade Jose was claiming to be the successor of Shining Path founder

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 b ...

. On 31 May 2009 Comrade José gave an interview to a reporter from

Punto Final ''Punto Final'' was a biweekly news and political magazine published in Santiago, Chile. The magazine was in circulation between September 1965 and 9 March 2018. History and profile ''Punto Final'' was established in 1965. The first issue appea ...

, a Peruvian news show. During the interview Comrade José took responsibility for Shining Path actions, admitted that he personally participated in the

Lucanamarca massacre The Lucanamarca massacre was a mass murder that took place in and around the town of Lucanamarca on 3 April 1983, by Sendero Luminoso terrorists. The attack, which claimed the lives of 69 members of indigenous peasant families, was ordered by cen ...

, and demonstrated a group of

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, inclu ...

under his command. Peruvian President

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apris ...

responded by announcing that the Peruvian government would denounce the Shining Path before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

and the Organization of American States for their use of child combatants. In his Punto Final interview, Comrade José also claimed that both of his parents had been members of the Shining Path, and that his father died in combat with the

Rondas Campesinas () are autonomous peasant patrols in rural Peru. The were especially active during the early 1980s in northern Peru and during internal conflict in Peru with the insurgency of the Maoist group Shining Path and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Mo ...

while his mother was arrested. He also spoke of his youth at

San Cristóbal of Huamanga University The San Cristóbal of Huamanga National University (in Spanish, ''Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga'') is a public university located in the city of Ayacucho (formerly known as Huamanga) in southern Peru. The university was estab ...

and said that he had three major combat wounds, including a bullet in his chest. He also said that he had close to 300 men under his command and they collected "war taxes" from narcotics traffickers. Comrade José also called his siblings "political embarrassments." This was a reference to the fact that they collaborated with military intelligence during the capture of

Comrade Feliciano The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may al ...

. The

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other natio ...

is currently offering a reward of $5 million USD for information leading to the arrest of Victor Quispe Palomino.United States Department of State - Narcotics Rewards Program
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jose, Comrade 1960 births Living people People from Ayacucho Peruvian criminals Peruvian drug traffickers Peruvian communists Peruvian revolutionaries Members of the Shining Path Peruvian guerrillas