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Police officers inspect the entrance of the tunnel through which 47 MRTA members escaped
Police officers inspect the entrance to the tunnel through which 47 MRTA members escaped. With the intention of freeing its detained militants from Castro Castro prison, the MRTA spent three years constructing a 332-meter tunnel. In the early months of 1990, a contingent from the self-styled "Urban Special Forces" accelerated its completion, finishing the work in the first days of July of that year. On July 9, 47 MRTA members, including leaders and militants, escaped from the prison. The impact of the escape once again thrust the subversive group into the national public spotlight.