Rescue in Lima

This report presents an analysis of the events that occurred between December 17, 1996 and April 22, 1997, as a result of the takeover of the Japanese embassy in Peru by the Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru. During the first phase, faced with the demands of the MRTA that led to the establishment of negotiations between the government and this guerrilla group, the talks were broken off on four occasions at the initiative of the government, despite the recent start of the conflict. Subsequently, there was a governmental concern about the behavior of President Alberto Fujimori's popularity, which began to show frequent fluctuations during this period of the conflict. All the events that occurred and the influence on public opinion exerted during the previous second phase of the conflict seemed to be only the political preparation of national and international public opinion ahead of a forceful resolution to the crisis, which materialized in the commando assault carried out by the government on April 22 at 3:30 p.m. on the Japanese embassy with the purpose of rescuing the hostages. This hypothesis about the political groundwork laid for the execution of a forceful action on April 22 is supported by the deliberate manipulation of public opinion by Fujimori, in addition to the evident beginning of planning for the government assault from the month of January, given that at the start of that month the government began construction of the tunnels that enabled the commando operation.