SUMMARY

Between 1988 and 1991, Peru experienced episodes of non-state violence involving the MRTA (Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement) and the Partido Comunista del Perú–Sendero Luminoso (Communist Party of Peru–Shining Path). Although both groups pursued Marxist-Leninist revolutionary goals, they operated separately and often in open hostility, competing for territorial control, recruitment, and ideological dominance. These clashes occurred primarily in central and eastern Peru, including parts of Lima, Huánuco, and Junín, where both organizations were attempting to expand their operational presence.

Sendero Luminoso, by then the dominant insurgent force, regarded MRTA as ideologically revisionist and militarily subordinate. Tensions escalated into armed confrontations, targeted assassinations, and executions of each other’s militants. Several incidents were reported in which Sendero Luminoso units ambushed MRTA operatives, labeling them “traitors to the revolution".

MRTA, though smaller in scale, also engaged in retaliatory violence. These clashes resulted in dozens of combatant deaths, though precise figures are difficult to verify due to the clandestine nature of both organizations and limited state presence in contested areas.

Although short in its duration, this period of insurgent rivalry significantly shaped the trajectory of Peru’s internal war by weakening the MRTA and reinforcing Sendero Luminoso’s dominance until the early 1990s.

The non-state conflict between MRTA and Sendero Luminoso was first included in UCDP data in 1989. In December 1991, clashes between the two groups resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.