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Abimael Guzman

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Terrorist

The Resume

    (December 3, 1934-September 11, 2021)
    Born in Arequipa, Peru
    Birth name was Manuel Ruben Abimael Guzman Reynoso
    Former professor of philosophy
    Led Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) in a Maoist uprising against the government of Peru (1980-92)
    Found guilty of terrorism and murder in a military trial, sentenced to life in prison (1992)
    Military trial ruled unconstitutional (2003)
    Re-tried in a civilian court, again found guilty and given a life sentence (2005-06)

Why he might be annoying:

    He considered Cuba too capitalist and denounced Che Guevara as bourgeois.
    He initially tried to win support from the public by targeting corrupt officials and other unpopular leaders, but soon began attacking workers who refused to participate in strikes organized by Shining Path, peasants who cooperated with the government in any way, and the middle class inhabitants of Peru's main cities.
    The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated that Shining Path was responsible for 35,000 deaths.
    At the start of his re-trial, he turned his back on the judges and delivered a revolutionary salute to the media gallery and announced, 'Long live the Communist Party of Peru! Glory to Marxism–Leninism–Maoism!'
    His wife died under mysterious circumstances (1989), rumored to have been murdered by his lover, Elena Iparraguirre, with his complicity.
    While serving life sentences in separate prisons, he and Iparraguirre went on hunger strikes until they were given permission to marry (2010).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He learned Quechua, the language of Peru's indigenous peoples.
    He was arrested in a safehouse disguised as a ballet studio, which inspired Nicholas Shakespeare's novel 'The Dancer Upstairs.'
    He appeared on Peruvian television to declare 'peace' with the government, which prompted 6,000 Shining Path members to surrender (1993).
    Ironically, one of his nighbors in prison is Vladimiro Montesinos, who as head of the National Intelligence Service played a major role in his capture. (But who was later convicted of bribery, influence peddling and embezzlement.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 163 Votes: 30.06% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2045 Votes: 69.83% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2293 Votes: 60.53% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 472 Votes: 93.01% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 221 Votes: 54.75% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 982 Votes: 52.65% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 827 Votes: 65.42% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 126 Votes: 59.52% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 92 Votes: 59.78% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 321 Votes: 61.68% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 350 Votes: 51.43% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 577 Votes: 59.97% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 1081 Votes: 79.19% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 54 Votes: 81.48% Annoying