“Operation Patriot will continue until the last man is removed from the combat zone,” a military source from the Joint Command of the Armed Forces (CC. FF. AA.), affirmed on the night of Saturday the 13th, on the third day of confrontations in the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers (Vraem). “When the last combatant has been withdrawn from the conflict area, then Operation Patriot will only have ended,” he assured.
Until Saturday, one of the three patrols of the Joint Task Force (JTF)which on Thursday the 11th were inserted in the vicinity of a terrorist camp in an intricate area between the districts of Ayahuanco (Huanta, Ayacucho) and Vizcatan del Ene (Satipo, Junin).
During the course of last Friday the 12th, helicopters were deployed to extract all the patrols, but only one could be withdrawn because snipers from the self-styled Militarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP) attacked the aircraft to prevent them from fulfilling their mission.
As a result of the clashes, the DC. FF. AA. reported the death in combat of the second non-commissioned officer of the Army Special Forces Edín Vásquez Huamán, 33 years old, from the Pardo Miguel district, Rioja province, San Martín region; and the second-class officer of the Marine Corps Marden Valqui Rodríguez, 28, born in the district of Florida, province of Bongará, Amazonas region.
The bodies were rescued and transferred to Air Group No. 8, in Callao, where they received funeral honors from the authorities.
Military sources also reported the death of terrorists, but preferred not to specify the number until the end of Operation Patriot.
Expectations about the results of the vast military operation in the Vraem are very high.
The high command of the CC. FF. AA. decided to give the green light to Operation Patriota after confirming intelligence information on the presumed location of the camp where Víctor Quispe Palomino, comrade ‘José’, a former member of the armed terrorist group of luminous path which began the armed struggle on May 17, 1980, in Chuschi, Ayacucho. Precisely, he was born in that town on August 1, 1960.
On Friday the 12th, the version of military sources circulated that Victor Quispe Palomino would be seriously injured as a result of Operation Patriot.
The sources indicated that the interception of the radio communications of the terrorists has made it possible to establish that they are urgently looking for medicines. And that the rush is due to the fact that one of its most important members, who would be Comrade ‘José’, has been seriously injured. Quispe Palomino was the main target of this strategy.
dangerous situation
According to sources of Joint Command of the Armed Forcesat least four Army Mi-17 helicopters were hit by shots from terrorist snipers, for which the aircraft of the Peruvian Air Force were required.
In addition, the MPCP terrorists have 7.62 x 54R caliber PKT machine guns, which they stole from downed helicopters. This type of weaponry is extremely lethal to aircraft.
“Helicopters have difficulty entering the combat zone because the terrorists continue to harass in the area. We are waiting for the strategic moment to rescue our colleagues.” said the sources consulted.
Operation Patriota began on Thursday, August 11 at 8:30 am in the Vizcatán hard zone, located between the border of the districts of Ayahuanco, in the province of Huanta, Ayacucho, and Vizcatán del Ene, province of Satipo, in Junín, on the left bank of the Mantaro River.
was grained
The plan of the operation was the location and capture of comrade ‘José’, considered a high value target (HVO) by the security forces.
According to intelligence reports, he had begun a plan of action that included the elimination of suspected collaborators from the security forces, including all their families.
The terrorists add up to 417 elements and, of these, 123 are equipped with weapons, such as PKT machine guns. The CC. FF. AA. He had received information that ‘José’ was with part of his “military commanders” in the area where members of the CC’s Joint Special Force (FEC) intervened. FF. AA.
“Unlike previous operations, in this case the elite troops (FEC) participated because it was a HVO (high value target). That is, the terrorist leader. It had been a long time since an operation against an FVO had been organized. We are confident that we have achieved important results because we have entered an area where the terrorists thought we would never reach. That has been a momentous blow because now the terrorists are not going to feel safe anywhere,” the military sources explained.
Speaking to the press, the Minister of Defense, Joseph Louis Gavidiaconfirmed that the terrorist leader Víctor Quispe would be badly injured.
“He (Víctor Quispe) is injured. He even entered his underground lair and we look forward to continuing operations. I will be grateful if you can communicate this information to the country because we are at an important and decisive moment”, he stated.
By “underground lair”, the minister referred to a kind of cave built by the terrorists to protect Comrade ‘José’. Having managed to reach that impregnable point represents an achievement for the FEC of the CC. FF. AA.
Gavidia announced that he will organize a conference to report the results of Operation Patriot.
fallen in combat
“We are awaiting the operation. We hope to meet the objectives. There were several findings in the (terrorist) camp, but I want to say that we are fighting and that we are going to fulfill the mission “.
On the other hand, authorities, relatives and friends of the military personnel killed in the Vraem offered heartfelt words for the irreparable loss of their loved ones.
Deceased. Petty Officer EP Edin Vásquez Huamán and Sea Officer Marden Valqui Rodríguez. Photo: diffusion
In 2016, Marden Valqui Rodriguez He graduated from the Marine Corps School and in 2019 he graduated as a qualified amphibious commando. In 2021, he was assigned to the Joint Task Force (JTF) to operate in the Vraem against the last terrorist group in the country.
“Rest in peace, warrior, fly high, you are already another hero of our Marine Corps. Marden Valqui, brother amphibious commando, Peru is indebted to you”, his classmates from the Navy amphibious commando class 2019 said goodbye.
Non-commissioned officer Edín Vásquez Huamán graduated from the Army Technical School (ETE) in 2015 and his class is named “TCO3 Rubén de la Cruz Huarcaya”, a hero of the Alto Cenepa war.
“There are no words to describe how sorry I am for your departure, You are a great human being and a great friend, I promise, you were ahead of us and you left as a soldier should leave: on the battlefield, ”wrote his promotion Edwin Torres Taipe.
