A Letter From a Peruvian Guerrilla

RICARDO GADEA, it is claimed was the leader of the M.I.R. in Peru. Below is a translation from Spanish of a letter sent by him from a prison in Lima, where he is being held as a hostage against any revolutionary movement amongst the oppressed peoples of his country, He led the famous PACHACUTEC guerrillas (named after one of Peru's pre- Colombian Incas) centred around Huancayo, Junin, in central Peru. Originally pacifists, he and his followers advanced in hundreds to reclaim promised lands, Troops and police rushed in to defend the land for the idle rich families, and machine gunned the pacifists, amongst whom were women and children. Gadea's Pachacutec legions held out for months in the jungles of Central Peru, Eventually he was captured and held as a hostage on various trumped-up charges, including one of setting fire to an American jeep. His cousin, Hilda Gadea, was at one time the wife of CHE GUEVARA, this being regarded as a further crime against Gadea himself! "T write to greet you and thank you for your activity in defending and assisting those who suffer the repression which the Government inflicts on popular movements, It is most heartening for us to know that, in distant England, important people and progressive movements send us a welcome, warm solidarity and constant support. Peru now lives through times of great social tension and sharp political encounters, Political and military repression is constant, and hunger, misery and illiteracy together with great backwardness, heavily burdens our country. This is now well-known, It is necessary to continue to denounce the crimes committed and the crushing of all popular movements. For example, at the end of April the M.I.R. leader, ENRIQUE AMAYA QUINTANA, vanished together with various peasants and students in Cuzco, To date his fate is unknown, In recent weeks there have been numerous arrests such as that of the writer and journalist HECTOR CORDERO GUEVARA and that of the General Secretary of the COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS in Lima, Architect Gustavo Ruiz de SOMOCURCIO, The latter arrest followed a public meeting which condemned repression in Peru and the NORTH AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN VIETNAM, The foregoing are examples of repressive deeds committed daily. From this Republic Guard Barrack Prison, I denounce the fact that I am held as a hostage on the charge that I am a guerrilla leader, I find myself subjected to a constant threat of brutal reprisals in the event of a revolution occurring in Peru, My very life and that of other imprisoned leaders of the guerrilla movement, is in grave peril, "