In the early morning hours of February 9, 2012, Shining Path leader Comrade Artemio [en] was injured during a confrontation in the San Martín region. Artemio has been a wanted man for some time, being one of the last bosses of the Maoist terrorist group Shining Path [en] to remain at large. Initial reports did not specify the exact location of the clash with the police, and it was even rumored that he had be captured, which was subsequently denied. It was then said that the fighting had been internal, when a group of Shining Path members and police who had infiltrated the group tried to capture and turn Artemio in to collect the reward offered for him. During the evening of the same day, it emerged that despite the strong showing of force by police, Artemio had successfully escaped with his confidantes. Nancy Zamora, mayor of the La Pólvora district, where this all occured, pleaded that the human rights of the common man in the face of such strong military and police force be respected. The daily newspaper El Comercio emphasized the seriousness of Artemio's injuries, according to various testimonies, and reported that there was an unidentified terrorist who had been captured. Meanwhile RPP speculated that if Artemio was killed, Shining Path would not have an adequate successor with its other leaders already in custody. Generacción featured a poll about the possible defeat of terrorism. After two more days of rumors, the Ministry of Defense confirmed on February 12, that Comrade Artemio had been captured alive, denying previous rumors about his escape and resulting death. According to their account, Artemio was discovered alone and wounded in a hut only a few kilometers away from the small village of Pizana, in Tocache [en], accompanied by two associates who escaped. President Ollanta Humala later arrived at the Santa Lucía military base, in Tocache, where Artemio had been transferred to receive medical attention. From there he announced that Artemio would be taken to Lima, which he was that same afternoon. Various local politicians hurried to congratulate the government for this action. President Ollanta Humala and Comrade Artemio. Image from Flickr user Presidencia Perú (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) The investigative journalism website IDL Reporteros was one of the first to report on the details that lead to Artemio's capture. They published details on how the first leg of the operation ended with Artemio injured but on the run, and later detailed his capture. In December the website had interviewed Artemio, which they published in two parts. In this extract of the interview, Artemio explains his thoughts about the propagation of Shining Path: Entonces el tipo de acciones que usted lleva a cabo ya no son acciones de una insurrección que busca la victoria sino acciones meramente defensivas. El objetivo político sigue siendo el mismo con que nos levantamos en armas, aunque en la práctica hoy día eso no es posible. Creo que eso es fácil de entender. En segundo lugar, mantenemos una fuerza armada en aras de garantizar la postura nuestra en relación de nuestros camaradas que están presos; y creo que eso es fácilmente comprensible. No tenemos la mínima intención de blandir las armas de la guerra, de la lucha armada. No. Con sinceridad queremos plantear que nosotros queremos una solución política; queremos que termine, pero a través de los métodos de una mesa de negociaciones. The blog Dazibao Rojo, which refers to itself as the “Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Blog”, refered with disdain to Artemio and his capture: Sus constantes llamados “a una solución política a los problemas derivados de la guerra popular” fueron recogidos ampliamente por la prensa burguesa presentándolo como un autentico dirigente comunista para crear confusión cuando lo cierto es que Artemio y su “Comité Regional” desde hace años no pertenece al clandestino PCP. But apart from the media and parties involved, some bloggers have viewed the capture of Artemio with a certain level of distrust, though without detracting from it, having suspicions about the timing of its announcement. Emilio Torres Meléndez of the blog Informativo Codeci-cn said: Lo que jode del gobierno y su prensa servil es que piensen que el pueblo peruano por ser pobre es idiota como para no darse cuenta que la noticia de la captura del camarada Artemio busca desviar totalmente la atención del público sobre el tema de Conga. Por cierto, no nos sorprende que para paliar los reclamos de la población y capear el temporal, el gobierno este utilizando sin ningún pudor la condena sin pruebas a 30 años de cárcel de Abencia Meza y ahora la captura del camarada Artemio como un operativo psicosocial.