Fujimori backs Armed Forces operations against Shining Path remnants and illegal mining in VRAEM, Pataz

President Keiko Fujimori visited the Joint Command of the Armed Forces (CCFFAA) headquarters in Lima, accompanied by Defense Minister Rafael Belaunde and Agrarian Development Minister Marco Vinelli, to receive a situational report from CCFFAA chief César Briceño on military operations underway around the country. Fujimori ratified 'full government support' for the operations, which target subversive remnants of Shining Path (Militarized Communist Party of Peru) and drug-trafficking and illegal-mining networks in coordination with the National Police. The military continues to hold emergency-zone control in the VRAEM (Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro river valley) and the northern province of Pataz, where a state of emergency against illegal mining was extended a further 60 days from August 4. The report follows Fujimori's campaign pledge — repeated at her July 28 inauguration — to give the armed forces the lead role in security operations, and comes as her government continues pushing Congress for 120 days of emergency legislative powers on security.