Although Sendero Luminoso was originally founded by Jose Carlos Mariategui in 1928, Dr. Guzman is the one who made the movement into what it is today.  He reestablished the party while he was a professor at the National University of San Cristobal of Huamanga in Ayacucho in the 1970s and continued to be its leader until the early 1990s.  He wanted Sendero Luminoso to gain power and spread the wealth.  To do that, he began the Prolonged People's War that, according to him, could last anywhere from 20 to 100  years.

Guzman's program for victory:

        1.  Agitation and armed propaganda,
        2.  sabotage against Peru's socioeconomic system
        3.  the generalization of the guerrilla struggle
        4.  the conquest and expansion of the revolution's support base and the strengthening of the guerrilla army
        5.  general civil war, the siege of the cities, and the final collapse of state power.

The Capture of Dr. Guzman

September 1992:  Guzman was captured and imprisoned.  According to most accounts, this event marked the end of the Prolonged People's War, or at least, the most violent part of it.

Two years later, Guzman began peace talks with then president, Alberto Fujimori.  This caused Sendero Luminoso to split into two parts.  Although the groups have differing opinions, the are both waiting in the wings for their next opportunity to jump.

According to the Peruvian government, Sendero Luminoso has been dimantled.  However, there is ample evidence that Sendero is still alive and well.