Combat of Molinos against MRTA

On April 28, 1989, two MRTA columns encountered Peruvian Army forces in the district of Molinos (Jauja) and were practically annihilated in combat. A column of thirty heavily armed subversives operating in the area of Satipo and Chanchamayo had begun a movement towards the highlands to unite with another column coming down from Tulumayo, in the highlands of Junin, with the objective of jointly taking the city of Tarma. After attacking the police post of Pichanaki, both columns met the Army in Molinos. This combat represented a serious setback for the MRTA, whose apparatus was already resentful since the capture of its leader Victor Polay in Huancayo on February 31, 1989.