---
category: Other
summary: American citizen jailed in Peru on charges of aiding the Shining Path guerrilla
  group, whose release was secured by Ari Ben-Menashe at the request of the U.S. consul
  general.
tags:
- Person
---

[Cynthia McNamara](/people/cynthia-mcnamara/) was an [American](/places/united-states/) citizen who was jailed in [Lima](/places/lima/), [Peru](/places/peru/), accused of taking part in a [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/) attack. She was a former hippie in her early 40s who had visited [Ecuador](/places/ecuador/) collecting [Indian](/places/india/) art pieces before traveling to [Peru](/places/peru/). In [Ayacucho](/places/ayacucho/), she fell in love with a doctor named Enrique and became friends with [Abimael Guzman Reynoso](/people/abimael-guzman-reynoso/), the leader of the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/).[^1]

[McNamara](/people/cynthia-mcnamara/) was rearrested on August 2, 1988, because a judge in Cangallo, a [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/)-controlled district, wanted her extradited. The charge against her was involvement in smuggling medical goods to the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/), and she was implicated in an incident where three people were shot dead during a truck inspection. [Donna Hamilton](/people/donna-hamilton/), the [U.S.](/places/united-states/) consul general, sought [Ben-Menashe's](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) help in securing her release.[^1]

[Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) traveled to Cangallo and, after a series of events, secured [McNamara's](/people/cynthia-mcnamara/) release from jail. She was released on August 22, 1988, and left [Peru](/places/peru/) for Ireland the next day.[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.