Seizure of Shatoja by the MRTA
On November 8, 1987, a column of seventy MRTA members took the town of Shatoja in San Martin, as part of a series of coordinated raids in the region. This action led the government to hand over political-military control of the department to the Armed Forces.
A column of seventy MRTA members took the locality of Shatoja on November 8, 1987, as part of a series of coordinated actions in the department of San Martin. This seizure was part of a sequence of MRTA raids that included Juanjui (November 6), San Jose de Sisa (November 7), San Martin de Alao (November 9) and other localities in the region. During these operations, journalists interviewed commander Rolando, head of the MRTA column, who was later identified as Victor Polay Campos. Faced with these MRTA armed actions in the northeastern jungle, the government proceeded to hand over to the Armed Forces the political-military control of the entire department of San Martin in November 1987.