Néstor Cerpa Cartollini during a press conference

Néstor Cerpa Cartollini is flanked by an MRTA member during a press conference held at the residence of Japanese Ambassador Morihisa Aoki on December 26, 1996, two weeks after the takeover carried out by the MRTA on December 17. On April 22, 1997, the Special Forces (FFEE) of the Armed Forces carried out Operation Chavín de Huántar, through which they freed 72 hostages who had been held captive for 136 days at that Lima residence. During the rescue, two Army officers, Supreme Court judge Carlos Giusti, and 14 MRTA members responsible for the kidnapping were killed. The results of forensic examinations conducted during the prosecutorial investigation suggest that Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez, "comrade Tito," was extrajudicially executed after the confrontation, when he was already in military custody and had laid down his arms. The investigation into the alleged extrajudicial execution of other MRTA members remains pending.