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Colonel Rafael Cordova was the head of military operations in Ayacucho, Peru. |
Colonel Rafael Cordova was the head of military operations in Ayacucho, Peru. He was a key figure in the Peru military's campaign against the Shining Path.1
Rafael Cordova met Ari Ben-Menashe on a flight to Ayacucho in 1988. Ari Ben-Menashe informed Rafael Cordova that he was from Israel and wished to teach at the University of San Cristobal and write a paper about the Shining Path. Rafael Cordova was initially suspicious but granted Ari Ben-Menashe a permit after Ari Ben-Menashe revealed knowledge of Rafael Cordova illegal sale of Stinger missiles to the Shining Path.1
Rafael Cordova was known for his brutal tactics against the Shining Path. After five of his officers were killed in a Shining Path ambush, he planned to massacre a village in retaliation. Ari Ben-Menashe attempted to prevent this by having Barbara Durr broadcast the plan, but the massacre proceeded, resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent villagers. Rafael Cordova was later implicated in the murder of a judge who was investigating the massacre, and two military helicopters were shot down by Stinger missiles that Rafael Cordova had sold to the Shining Path.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. TrineDay, 1992. ↩︎