The Taking of the Embassy
Congressman Javier Diez Canseco bought the Christmas tree his wife had been persistently asking for, left it at home, and headed out to an event at a human rights organization. But when he got into his vehicle, he reached into his jacket pocket and found the Japanese Embassy invitation. "Let's stop by there first," he told the driver. A few minutes later he was one of the 450 hostages that the MRTA's "Oscar Torres Condezo" command had taken at the residence of Japanese Ambassador Morihisha Aoki. The gunfire that followed the subversives' assault lasted — intermittently — about 40 minutes and was the product of improvisation and the initial mishandling of the crisis. Published December 19, 1996.