PERU · SECURITY · UNITED STATES
Key Facts
- —The country Peru is a big copper and gold producer on South America’s Pacific coast, governed by President Keiko Fujimori of the conservative Popular Force party.
- —What happened On Wednesday 14 October, General Francis L. Donovan, head of US Southern Command, met Defence Minister Rafael Belaunde in Iquitos and flew with him to a military post on the Colombian border.
- —What is new Belaunde names the last armed remnant of the Shining Path, led by the Quispe Palomino brothers, as a target of the closer military ties with Washington.
- —The US link Washington has listed the Shining Path as a foreign terrorist organisation since 1997, and three foreign gangs Peru wants to treat as “hostile groups” are on the same list.
- —Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 54.7 points (October 2026 edition).
- —Still open Peru’s Congress has not yet granted the decree powers the government wants for its hostile-group plan, and no joint operation has been announced.
Peru’s defence minister has named the last armed remnant of the Shining Path guerrillas as a target of his push for closer military ties with the United States. Rafael Belaunde set out the aim in a report aired on Sunday 18 October by Panorama, a programme of Panamericana Televisión, four days after General Francis Donovan, head of US Southern Command, visited the Peruvian Amazon.
For US readers, the stakes are direct, because Southern Command runs US military operations across Latin America and the Caribbean. The State Department has listed the Shining Path as a foreign terrorist organisation since 1997, and Peru also wants its army to take on foreign gangs that Washington designated as terrorists in 2025 and 2026.
The visit itself was reported when it happened, in Peru and US Step Up Fight on Illegal Mining. Foreign Minister Carlos Espá was invited to explain the US-led coalition behind the talks to lawmakers on 19 October, as covered in Peru Sets 19 October Hearing on Shield of the Americas.
What Belaunde Wants
In remarks carried by Panorama, Belaunde said the government wants to give the armed forces political backing and a legal framework to fight criminal organisations. One of its goals, he said, is to neutralise the Shining Path remnant led by the Quispe Palomino brothers, which operates in the VRAEM and keeps ties to drug trafficking.
The VRAEM is the remote jungle region of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro river valleys in south-central Peru, where the defence ministry says narco-terrorist networks operate. The Shining Path is the Maoist insurgency that fought the Peruvian state from 1980, and its surviving armed wing now works alongside drug traffickers there.
What the US General Discussed
Donovan met Belaunde, US Ambassador Bernie Navarro and General César Briceño, head of the Joint Command of Peru’s Armed Forces, in Iquitos, the capital of the Amazon region of Loreto. They flew in a US V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft, to El Estrecho, a military post on the Colombian border, and then visited the Putumayo and Mariscal Castilla Unified Command in Iquitos.
According to Panorama, Donovan said the United States wants to widen joint work with Peruvian forces while respecting Peru’s sovereignty and each country’s legal powers. The cooperation covers intelligence sharing, logistical support and stronger operational capacity against criminal groups that work across borders.
The defence ministry said the alliance would give Peru intelligence against organised crime “that causes deaths, extortion, human trafficking,” in Belaunde’s words. Briceño stressed the need for specialised units able to act both in hard-to-reach areas and in cities.
The Shield of the Americas
Peru formally joined the Shield of the Americas on 10 September, according to the defence ministry. The Shield is a US-led security framework launched in March, and its operating arm, the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, works through intelligence sharing, military cooperation, border security and the protection of critical infrastructure.
Peru also named the writer Álvaro Vargas Llosa as its ambassador in Washington, in a supreme resolution published in the official gazette, El Peruano, on 14 October. He told RPP radio that getting Peru into the US Visa Waiver Program, which would let Peruvians visit the United States for tourism or business without a visa, is a priority, though he said talks are at an early stage.
The Hostile-Group Plan
Belaunde wants a legal mechanism that lets the defence ministry and the cabinet declare armed criminal organisations “hostile groups”, so the military can strike their leaders using its own intelligence. Presenting the idea to a committee of the Chamber of Deputies on 14 September, he named Tren de Aragua, Comando Vermelho and Los Choneros among his examples, along with two Peruvian gangs.
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang, Comando Vermelho a Brazilian drug faction from Rio de Janeiro, and Los Choneros an Ecuadorian cartel. The State Department added them to its list of foreign terrorist organisations on 20 February 2025, 5 June 2026 and 5 September 2025 respectively.
The Chamber of Deputies approved a narrower version of the government’s request for decree powers on 6 October, limited to security and the El Niño weather threat for 90 days, and sent it to the Senate. Deputies dropped some contested items, including declaring criminal groups terrorists, but Belaunde told RPP radio in a recent interview that the government still hopes to win powers to treat such gangs as hostile groups.
What It Means for You
For US readers, the visit is another sign that Washington’s campaign against Latin American cartels is becoming a military partnership, with Peru as a new and willing member. If Peru’s Congress grants the powers, Peruvian troops could go after groups the United States already treats as terrorists, with US intelligence behind them.
For travellers, the State Department’s advisory for Peru, issued on 4 September, rates the country Level 2, exercise increased caution. It says Americans should not travel to the VRAEM, where it warns the Shining Path is still active, or to the Colombian border area of Loreto, the region Donovan visited.
What Is Not Known
No joint operation, troop deployment or new US funding has been announced as a result of the visit. It is also not known what intelligence the United States will share, or under what rules.
It is not clear whether the version of the decree powers approved by deputies keeps the hostile-group mechanism, or when the Senate will vote on it. The outcome of Espá’s appearance before deputies on 19 October was not known at the time of writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is General Francis L. Donovan?
He is the commander of US Southern Command, which runs US military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. He visited Iquitos and the Colombian border with Peru’s defence minister on 14 October.
What is the Shield of the Americas?
It is a US-led security framework launched in March to fight drug cartels and transnational crime. Peru formally joined it on 10 September.
What is the VRAEM?
It is the jungle region of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro river valleys in south-central Peru. Peru’s government says narco-terrorist networks tied to a Shining Path remnant operate there.
What are hostile groups in Peru’s plan?
The government wants power to declare armed criminal organisations hostile groups, so the armed forces can act against them. Examples it has named include Tren de Aragua, Comando Vermelho and Los Choneros.
Sources: Peru Ministry of Defence, Iquitos meeting, 14 October 2026, US State Department, Foreign Terrorist Organizations list, US State Department, Peru travel advisory, 4 September 2026, Panamericana Televisión, Panorama, 18 October 2026, NTN24, Donovan in Iquitos, 14 October 2026, NTN24, Vargas Llosa appointment, 14 October 2026, Panamericana, Supreme Resolution 173-2026-RE, Panamericana, Vargas Llosa to RPP on the Visa Waiver Program, Panamericana, Belaunde to RPP on hostile groups, América TV, Belaunde before the Constitution Committee, 14 September 2026, Primicias, deputies approve decree powers, 7 October 2026, Congress of Peru, invitation to Foreign Minister Espá, 5 October 2026, Teletica, Shield of the Americas members, 12 August 2026. All retrieved 19 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief