
UNION MANTARO, Peru -- The last town on a rutted dirt road in Peru's most prolific cocaine-producing highland valley, Union Mantaro has no police post, no church and no health clinic. Its 600 people lack running water and electricity.
Until January, makeshift huts of wood and plastic housed scores of refugees from a government offensive against a small but lethal band of drug-funded rebels, revitalized remnants of the fanatical Shining Path guerrilla movement.
Most have since returned to outlying mountain villages as the rebels frustrated the army's campaign against them, killing 33 soldiers and wounding 48 since the military arrived in August. The rebel death toll is unknown.
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My Comment:If I had no money, living in poverty, and having a family that does not have their basic needs met .... I would probably be growing the stuff also. But unlike the Shining Path of Old .... this group is clearly dedicated to profiting from the drug trade. And also like any other narco group, this group will kill those who get in their way.