SUMMARY
MRTA (Revolutionary Movement Túpac Amaru) was a Marxist-Leninist rebel group that fought the Peruvian government in an armed conflict from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. The group was formed in 1983 by the university students Víctor Polay and Néstor Cerpa who went on to also lead the movement. The formation came as a result of a conference held shortly after the merging of the two radical movements the Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Socialist Party and the military faction of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) in the early 1980s. The name of the group was taken in homage to Túpac Amaru, the last indigenous leader of Inca people, who revolted against the Spaniards and who was put to death in the late eighteenth century. Inspired by fellow-socialist FSLN’s victory in the civil war in Nicaragua and by guerilla activities in El Salvador and Guatemala, the group’s aim was to defeat imperialism (primarily US and Japanese influence), achieve national and social liberty and establish a Marxist regime. It considered itself to be a mass popular movement for those sharing a common sense of justice, regardless of their social origins or class.
MRTA established its military wing in 1984 – numbering some 100 fighters – and subsequently commenced carrying out small urban guerilla attacks in Lima and Guanaco, a mountain provincial capital near Lima, committing bank robberies and assaults to finance its activities. The attacks in the cities targeted symbols of capitalism and imperialism, such as banks, foreign embassies, US companies or government representation, etc. MRTA also escalated its guerilla activities in jungle areas and cities in northern and central Peru, engaging in kidnappings to finance its activities. Between 1989 and 1991, the group also clashed with Sendero Luminoso, another leftist guerrilla active in the country.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the movement grew stronger and the recruitment of new fighters brought it closer to drug traffickers. This new trend, was labeled ‘drug-terrorism’ (narco-terrorismo) in the media, something that was effectively used by the Government of Peru to give the movement bad publicity. The new image in effect did subtract appeal for MRTA.
When Polay and the top leadership were captured in 1992, the remaining leaders started planning an attack on Congress. The aim was to take congressmen hostage and free them in exchange for the incarcerated MRTA leaders. The attack was never carried out as police intelligence work led to the capture of the members planning the operation in 1995.
MRTA’s last action to fight the drug-terrorism branding and restore its lost image was an attack led by Néstor Cerpa and 13 of his men on the Japanese ambassador’s residence in December 1996. The attack took place during a formal social gathering with over 600 guests, among them high-ranking politicians, members of the armed forces and relatives of President Fujimori. For four months, 72 people were held hostage on the premises. In April 1997, under orders from President Alberto Fujimori, the elite commander of the armed forces stormed the embassy and rescued all the hostages, except for one who was killed in the operation. Two army officers and all MRTA members, including Cerpak, lost their lives in the operation, which marked the ending of the MRTA.
