Peruvian death squad members in The UK?

Here's how British newspaper The Independent kicks off this very strange story about a possible perp of human rights crimes that include mass torture and murders who's turned up running an Italian restaurant in Sleepyville England. Click through for the rest.

The high street in Tiverton, Devon, is just like that of any other small market town – with a tea shop, a barber's, an Indian restaurant and a second-hand bookseller – except that at the local Italian, the man tending the bar and waiting tables is on bail for alleged torture and crimes against humanity.

Il Gatto Nero was closed for business for two days this week, prompting the landlord to fear that his tenant Rodrigo Grande, a 46-year-old Peruvian, had "done a runner". In fact, Mr Grande was 15 miles away at Exeter police station, being questioned about his alleged role in the torture and murder of hundreds of Peruvian civilians in the 1980s and early 1990s, when government-backed death squads moved to quash the Maoist insurgent movement known as the Shining Path.

While Mr Grande was being questioned, Metropolitan Police officers searched both his restaurant and his rented home nearby, removing mobile phones and computer equipment. He is now on bail and expected to present himself to police in London in July.

Mr Grande, who is 6ft tall and was dressed in jeans and a cardigan when located by The Independent, protested his innocence yesterday. "They wanted to speak to me about when I worked as a police officer in Peru. I have done nothing. I have done nothing," he said, refusing to say more about the matter.

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potentially great news out of Peru

There have been plenty of Spanish language stories on this, but here's the BBC in English with the headline:

Peru Shining Path leader Guzman in hunger strike threat

The jailed leader of Peru's Shining Path rebel group and his girlfriend say they will go on hunger strike unless they are allowed to wed.

Abimael Guzman and Elena Yparraguirre are both serving life sentences.

Their lawyer said they had been asking for permission to marry for several years and were tired of waiting.

The Mao-inspired Shining Path unleashed a brutal civil conflict in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru, in which nearly 70,000 people were killed continues here

So let's hope that Guzman keeps his word, that the Peru authorities don't cave in and that this pondslime über alles dies a slow and nasty death in about three months time. His self-inflicted death would be a great day for humanity.

News roundup (we nibble at the applecores that others nonchalantly toss over their shoulders)

US GDP third quarter GDP revised down. Krugman got the insight needed. We got a cool chart above. Dow coming back down? Pimco seems to think so, judging by the bonds trade Billy G has just made.

Peru's Shining Path scumballs are trying to get themselves into the next set of elections by setting up a 'democratic' party. How anyone can even consider this as viable is beyond me. These people are responsible for tens of thousands of murders, some in the most horrific ways possible. There is a case for censorship in modern society and these people do not deserve a voice or the right to free speech.

Today's 'No Shit Sherlock' award goes to the government of Paraguay, which called the recently uncovered coup plot against Fernando Lugo "illegal". Ain't gonna hear many arguing the use of that adjective, dudes.

In a clear communist plot to take over the world, Venezuela donates 5.1 million energy saving lightbulbs to Ecuador to help lighten the energy crisis load brought on by the local drought.

Argentina's INDEC stats office does something unheard of in more than two years of macro country reporting and tells the truth. Unemployment is recorded up at 9.1% in Argentina for the third quarter, up 1.3% YoY.

Peru's Sendero Terrorists just doubled their number

A nice report from Reuters today that has spotted the quiet way in which Peruvian army chiefs have quietly upped their estimations for the strength of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrilla/terrorist/narcotrafficking group (all labels seem to fit) to 600 from 300. This also fits in with the insightful mail received by IKN and re-printed in this post earlier this week.

Here's the Reuters note, so go read yourself. Here's the first part:

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LIMA, April 16 (Reuters) - Peru's military doubled its estimate for the size of the Shining Path guerrilla group to 600 on Thursday, after months of bloody ambushes in a coca-growing region that have killed at least 30 soldiers. The deaths have piled up since August, when the army launched an offensive to retake control of the coca-rich Ene and Apurimac valleys. It has since realized there were more rebels than it had thought. "This new estimate (of 600) is based on information we have received following attacks by the terrorists," Peru's joint chiefs of staff said.
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