The commander of the Peruvian army said that if Peruvian guerrilla group Shining Path is not contained, it could become as powerful as the FARC.
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) is a Maoist guerrilla organization that operates out of the 'cocaine valleys' of Peru. Since the capture of its leader in 1992, it has only been sporadically active.
However General Otto Guibovich told El Comercio that the group has changed and is becoming more like the FARC, with armed troops. Peruvian authorities say their numbers have doubled to 600 in a year. Guibovich believes they obtained the money required to regroup by drug trafficking.
He also believes that Sendero Luminoso can "count on" FARC support.
"You only have to take a quick look at Colombia or Mexico to understand the danger of the situation of this revamped Sendero Luminoso and their involvement in drug trafficking," wRadio reported that Mirko Lauer, a columnist for La República had said.
Peru is currently the second biggest producer of cocaine in the world.
"We must confront them and stop them from growing," said Guibovich.
The Peruvian government announced it will build six "anti-terrorist" bases to add to that which already exists in Putumayo on the border with Colombia.
It said Friday that it will announce a new strategy to fight drug trafficking within the next few weeks.
