Néstor Cerpa Cartolini
Encyclopedia
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a Marxist revolutionary group active in Peru from the early 1980s to 1997 and one of the main actors in the internal conflict in Peru...
(MRTA) guerrilla movement.
Cerpa was born in the Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
working class district of La Victoria
La Victoria
La Victoria may refer to:In Colombia:*La Victoria, Valle del Cauca, a town and municipality*La Victoria, Boyacá, a town and municipalityIn Paraguay:*La Victoria District, ParaguayIn Peru:* La Victoria District, Peru...
. As a union leader in the 1970s he was involved in the takeover by workers of the Cromotex textile factory in December 1978, which was violently ended by the military government in February 1979, resulting in the deaths of several workers. Following the release of the survivors in late 1979, Cerpa organized a sit-in at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
communications office in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
.
In the early 1980s he became involved with the nascent MRTA and quickly rose to be the leader of the San Martín Zone Committee, and thence to the national leadership of the MRTA. As an MRTA militant he is alleged to have led and/or participated in:
- Takeover of the Lima head offices of El Nacional newspaper, forcing its workers to print an MRTA communiqué.
- Putting a guerrilla flag in the "Plaza Unión", in Lima, on September 9, 1984.
- Arson at the KFCKFCKFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
on Avenida Benavides, SurcoSantiago de SurcoSantiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north by the districts of La Molina, Ate and San Borja; on the south by Chorrillos; on the east by La Molina, Villa María del Triunfo and San Juan de Miraflores; and on the west by San Borja,...
, Lima, on March 20, 1985. - Attempted attack on the office of Sedapal, located in the intersection of Avenida Benavides and La Paz in MirafloresMiraflores District, LimaMiraflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. Known for its shopping areas, gardens, flower-filled parks and beaches, it is one of the upscale districts that make up the city of Lima....
. - Assault and armed robbery against the San Borja Galleria on March 30, 1985, also in Lima.
- Assault on the Julio C. Tello Technological Institute in Villa el SalvadorVilla El SalvadorVilla El Salvador is an urban, largely residential district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the east and San Juan de Miraflores on the north.- History :It began...
on May 6, 1985. - Assault and armed robbery against Electro Perú, Lima, on May 25, 1985.
In late 1985 Cerpa travelled to Colombia, where he headed the "Leoncio Prado" Squad, one of three MRTA squads that participated in a joint military venture with Colombia's M-19 movement and Ecuador's ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!
¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!
The Eloy Alfaro Popular Armed Forces , also known as ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! was a clandestine left-wing group in Ecuador, founded in 1982 and named after popular government leader and general Eloy Alfaro.- History :AVC first received national attention in 1983, when it...
and Quintín Lame
Quintín Lame
Manuel Quintín Lame Chantre was an Colombian indigenous rebel from the early 20th century who tried to conform an independent indigenous republic....
guerrillas.
After his return to Peru, and following the capture of Victor Polay
Víctor Polay
Víctor Polay Campos is one of the founders of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, a Peruvian guerrilla organization that fought in the internal conflict in Peru...
, Cerpa became the most prominent leader within the MRTA and one of the few publicly-known faces within the movement.
Following the April 1992 "self-coup" by Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
, the MRTA suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Peruvian police and military, which coupled with internal problems, had brought the organization to the brink of defeat. In this context, Cerpa and the MRTA leadership looked to a spectacular action to break the MRTA out of its growing isolation.
In December 1996, Cerpa led an MRTA commando squad in seizing the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, which started what is now called the Japanese embassy hostage crisis
Japanese embassy hostage crisis
The Japanese embassy hostage crisis began on 17 December 1996 in Lima, Peru, when 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took hostage hundreds of high-level diplomats, government and military officials and business executives who were attending a party at the official residence of...
. The MRTA's main demand was for the exchange of the hostages for 465 members of the MRTA in prison, including Cerpa's wife Nancy Gilvonio, the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an members of the organization, and U.S. citizen Lori Berenson
Lori Berenson
Lori Helene Berenson is an American convicted in Peru of unlawful collaboration with the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement , which the Peruvian government regarded as a terrorist organization, and which had committed numerous attacks in attempting to overthrow the government...
. The government rejected the demands, and on April 22, 1997, after 126 days, a 140-man team of commandos of the Peruvian Armed Forces stormed the Japanese ambassador's residence to rescue all the hostages. One hostage and two soldiers died in the assault, as did all fourteen (MRTA) guerrillas.
On April 24, 1997, Cerpa's body was interred without ceremony in a cemetery in the Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
suburb of Villa María del Triunfo
Villa María del Triunfo
Villa María del Triunfo is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It located in the Cono Sur area of the city of Lima.Officially established as a district on December 28, 1961, the current mayor of Villa María del Triunfo is Silvia Barrera . The district's postal code is 35.-Geography:The...
.