Tupac Amaru

All around the world and since many years ago, revolutionary movements had existed to fight for their rights and equality. In Peru, one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations was the Tupac Amaru revolutionary movement(MRTA). Its members were the protagonists of the japanese embassy hostage crisis which began on december 1996. This essay has as an objective to explain how did the operation Chavin de Huantar happened, who was involved and its consequences.

In December 1996, fourteen MRTA members occupied the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima, holding 72 hostages for more than four months. Those victims were high-level diplomats, government and military officials and business executives who were celebrating the emperor Akihito’s 63th birthday. After being held hostage for 126 days, the remaining dignitaries were freed on 22 April 1997 thanks to the operation Chavin de Huantar. The name was chosen for the operation because to make the incursion possible, tunnels had to be dug under the ambassador's residence, just like the famous underground passageways made in the Chavin culture.

During the course of the assault, two commandos, one hostage and all the fourteen rebels died. The success of the operation was followed by subsequent claims, backed by several witnesses, that at least three and possibly eight of the rebels had been summarily executed by the commandos after surrendering. There are also rumours that Vladimiro Montesinos, Chief of Military Intelligence, ordered the execution of the only dead hostage, Carlos Guisti and Francisco Tudela who were political rivals of Alberto Fujimori.

To sum up, 72 hostages taken by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary movement were successfully rescued thanks to the operation called Chavin de Huantar. The victims were freed in just a matter of seconds but, unluckily, two of the commandos died. Finally, even though we still remember that heroic moment, many people are not in the same position due to the different claims that followed the operation.