---
category: Other
summary: Colonel Rafael Cordova was the head of military operations in Ayacucho, Peru.
tags:
- Person
---

Colonel [Rafael Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) was the head of military operations in [Ayacucho](/places/ayacucho/), [Peru](/places/peru/). He was a key figure in the [Peruvian](/places/peru/) military's campaign against the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/).[^1]

[Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) met [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) on a flight to [Ayacucho](/places/ayacucho/) in 1988. [Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) informed [Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) that he was from [Israel](/places/israel/) and wished to teach at the [University of San Cristobal](/organizations/university-of-san-cristobal/) and write a paper about the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/). [Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) was initially suspicious but granted [Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) a permit after [Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) revealed knowledge of [Cordova's](/people/rafael-cordova/) illegal sale of Stinger missiles to the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/).[^1]

[Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) was known for his brutal tactics against the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/). After five of his officers were killed in a [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/) ambush, he planned to massacre a village in retaliation. [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) attempted to prevent this by having [Barbara Durr](/people/barbara-durr/) broadcast the plan, but the massacre proceeded, resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent villagers. [Cordova](/people/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 [Cordova](/people/rafael-cordova/) had sold to the [Shining Path](/organizations/shining-path/).[^1]

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