Peruvian prison massacres
Encyclopedia
The Peruvian prison massacres occurred on June 18–19, 1986, after a series of riots
in the San Pedro
, Santa Mónica
, and El Frontón
prisons in Lima
and Callao
. The military repression of these riots resulted in the loss of at least 224 lives.
During the internal conflict in Peru
, the bloody campaign by the Peruvian Maoist
group Shining Path
was responsible for the deaths of thousands of inhabitants of the rural regions of Peru. The Military of Peru
, which had been dispatched to put down the insurgency
, was also responsible for the deaths of thousands of Peruvians, as it treated campesinos
as potential terrorists
or terrorist sympathizers.
At the beginning of his 1985–1990 term, President Alan García demonstrated an interest in changing the counter-subversive strategy of his predecessor, Fernando Belaúnde Terry
, with the purpose of reducing human rights
violations against the civilian population, by calling on the civil society to propose solutions to the problem of political violence in Peru. Nevertheless, his government authorized a swift and violent takeover of the prisons to regain control, placing Peru's human rights violations back into the national and international spotlight.
, of which Alan García's APRA
political party was a member, was being conducted in Lima. The prisoners in San Juan de Lurigancho, El Frontón, and the women's prison in Santa Mónica, who had tacit control of the prison interiors, rose up and took prison guards and three journalists as hostage
s. They demanded the immediate release of 500 people imprisoned for terrorism. García and his government were caught off-guard by the uprising. At 10:00 AM an emergency cabinet session began with the participation of García and military commanders. Three hours later, the Minister of the Interior, Abel Salinas
, announced that if the prisoners did not surrender, the prisons would be retaken by force. That day, Shining Path terrorist members began a wave of murders and attacks in Lima that left several dead.
, which at the time was responsible for protecting Peru's borders and prisons, regained control relatively quickly. They demolished a wall and sent tear and paralyzing gases into the prison. In two hours the hostages were released, and two people had died.
At midnight, June 19, the assault on the prison on the island of El Frontón commenced. The assault was carried out under the command of the Peruvian Navy
. The director of the prison, a judge, and the public prosecutor had protested against the Navy's intervention, and declared that they were no longer responsible for what occurred inside the prison as a result of the assault. Meanwhile, from the island of El Frontón the vice-minister of the Interior, Agustín Mantilla, announced that the island was under the control of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces as it had been declared a restricted military zone.
Later, the Navy, with Naval Infantry
support, attacked the "Blue Ward" of El Frontón, which was where Shining Path terrorist members were imprisoned. The walls of the prison were then destroyed with the aid of helicopters. During the assault three members of the Peruvian Armed Forces, one of the hostages, and 135 prisoners were killed. Simultaneously, Republican Guard SWAT team arrived at Lurigancho prison, and placed explosives around the outer wall of the Industrial Pavilion Part prison where the Shining Path terrorist held hostages. A joint offensive by troops of the Republican Guard and the Peruvian Army
followed. At 3:00 am, after heavy fighting with guns and grenades, the terrorist surrendered. Hours later, numerous prisoners that occupied the building lay dead: most had been executed
, one by one, by a shot to the nape of the neck.
According to a cable from the United States Department of State
, "at least 100 prisoners were summarily executed." The Peruvian government itself concluded that all 124 rebellious prisoners in Lurigancho prison died in the assault, and that no fewer than 90 were victims of extrajudicial executions.
The national and international scandal that resulted from this multiple crime was enormous. During President García's delayed visit to the scene of the events, he declared that there were two possibilities: "either they [the terrorist] go or I go." Nevertheless nothing was ever done to punish the guilty. In fact, Luis Giampietri
, the orchestrator of the massacre at El Frontón, would later become Alan García's vice president
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....
in the San Pedro
San Pedro de Lloc
San Pedro de Lloc is a town in the La Libertad Region of northern Peru. It is located at approximately . It is the capital of the coastal Pacasmayo Province....
, Santa Mónica
Santa Mónica
Santa Mónica is a small town of San José Department in southern Uruguay. In 2004 it had a population of 2,561.It is connected to Montevideo by Route 1. Playa Pascual lies just to its southwest. Both Playa Pascual and Santa Mónica, along with other populated segments, have been integrated into the...
, and El Frontón
El Frontón
El Frontón is an island off the coast of Callao, Peru.For much of El Frontón's history, the island was used as a prison. Fernando Belaúnde Terry, who was twice president of Peru, was imprisoned on the island as a political prisoner. During his imprisonment, Belaúnde Terry made an unsuccessful...
prisons 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...
and Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
. The military repression of these riots resulted in the loss of at least 224 lives.
Antecedents
Internal conflict in Peru
It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru that started in 1980 and, although still ongoing, had greatly wound down by 2000. The principal actors in the war were the Shining Path , the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the government of Peru.A great...
, the bloody campaign by the Peruvian Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
group Shining Path
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
was responsible for the deaths of thousands of inhabitants of the rural regions of Peru. The Military of Peru
Military of Peru
The Peruvian Armed Forces are the military services of Peru, comprising independent Army, Navy and Air Force components. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any threat...
, which had been dispatched to put down the insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
, was also responsible for the deaths of thousands of Peruvians, as it treated campesinos
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
as potential terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
or terrorist sympathizers.
At the beginning of his 1985–1990 term, President Alan García demonstrated an interest in changing the counter-subversive strategy of his predecessor, Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry was President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms . Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected in 1980 after eleven years of military rule...
, with the purpose of reducing human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations against the civilian population, by calling on the civil society to propose solutions to the problem of political violence in Peru. Nevertheless, his government authorized a swift and violent takeover of the prisons to regain control, placing Peru's human rights violations back into the national and international spotlight.
Riots
June 18, 1986 6:00 AM Lima - Peru, prisoners rioted within multiple prison facilities in Lima and Callao. The riots took place while a congress of the Socialist InternationalSocialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
, of which Alan García's APRA
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance
The Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana is a centre-left Peruvian political party.At the legislative elections held on 9 April 2006, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 36 out of 120 seats in the Congress of the Republic...
political party was a member, was being conducted in Lima. The prisoners in San Juan de Lurigancho, El Frontón, and the women's prison in Santa Mónica, who had tacit control of the prison interiors, rose up and took prison guards and three journalists as hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s. They demanded the immediate release of 500 people imprisoned for terrorism. García and his government were caught off-guard by the uprising. At 10:00 AM an emergency cabinet session began with the participation of García and military commanders. Three hours later, the Minister of the Interior, Abel Salinas
Abel Salinas
Abel Salinas Izaguirre is a Peruvian politician. In 1985 under Alan García government he served as Interior Minister, in 1987 as Energy Minister and in 1988 Finance Minister...
, announced that if the prisoners did not surrender, the prisons would be retaken by force. That day, Shining Path terrorist members began a wave of murders and attacks in Lima that left several dead.
Negotiations
The government of Peru sent a negotiating commission formed by Caesar Samamé, Augusto Rodriguez Rabanal and Fernando Cabieses, arriving at El Frontón Prison at 4:30 PM. However, negotiations did not bring about results.Assault
6:00 PM, as the negotiations failed, the order to assault the prisons was given. The first attack began in the women's prison at Santa Mónica, where the Republican GuardRepublican Guard (Peru)
The Peruvian Republican Guard was a Peruvian security force responsibility for border control, custody of the prisons, and guarding significant government buildings.-History:...
, which at the time was responsible for protecting Peru's borders and prisons, regained control relatively quickly. They demolished a wall and sent tear and paralyzing gases into the prison. In two hours the hostages were released, and two people had died.
At midnight, June 19, the assault on the prison on the island of El Frontón commenced. The assault was carried out under the command of the Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
. The director of the prison, a judge, and the public prosecutor had protested against the Navy's intervention, and declared that they were no longer responsible for what occurred inside the prison as a result of the assault. Meanwhile, from the island of El Frontón the vice-minister of the Interior, Agustín Mantilla, announced that the island was under the control of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces as it had been declared a restricted military zone.
Later, the Navy, with Naval Infantry
Peruvian Naval Infantry
The 3,000 personnel Peruvian Naval Infantry includes an amphibious brigade of three battalions and local security units with two transport ships , four tank landing ships, and about forty Portuguese Chaimite armored personnel carriers.Since 1982 IMAP detachments have been deployed, under Peruvian...
support, attacked the "Blue Ward" of El Frontón, which was where Shining Path terrorist members were imprisoned. The walls of the prison were then destroyed with the aid of helicopters. During the assault three members of the Peruvian Armed Forces, one of the hostages, and 135 prisoners were killed. Simultaneously, Republican Guard SWAT team arrived at Lurigancho prison, and placed explosives around the outer wall of the Industrial Pavilion Part prison where the Shining Path terrorist held hostages. A joint offensive by troops of the Republican Guard and the Peruvian Army
Peruvian Army
The Peruvian Army is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations...
followed. At 3:00 am, after heavy fighting with guns and grenades, the terrorist surrendered. Hours later, numerous prisoners that occupied the building lay dead: most had been executed
Extrajudicial punishment
Extrajudicial punishment is punishment by the state or some other official authority without the permission of a court or legal authority. The existence of extrajudicial punishment is considered proof that some governments will break their own legal code if deemed necessary.-Nature:Extrajudicial...
, one by one, by a shot to the nape of the neck.
According to a cable from the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, "at least 100 prisoners were summarily executed." The Peruvian government itself concluded that all 124 rebellious prisoners in Lurigancho prison died in the assault, and that no fewer than 90 were victims of extrajudicial executions.
The national and international scandal that resulted from this multiple crime was enormous. During President García's delayed visit to the scene of the events, he declared that there were two possibilities: "either they [the terrorist] go or I go." Nevertheless nothing was ever done to punish the guilty. In fact, Luis Giampietri
Luis Giampietri
Luis Giampietri Rojas is a retired admiral of the Peruvian Navy and a politician with the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance party...
, the orchestrator of the massacre at El Frontón, would later become Alan García's vice president
External links
- Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales en el penal de El Frontón y Lurigancho (1986) - Truth and Reconciliation CommissionTruth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru)The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2001 after the fall of president Alberto Fujimori, to examine abuses committed during the 1980s and 1990s, when Peru was plagued by the worst political violence in the history of the republic...
- Peru in "The Eye of the Storm" - The National Security ArchiveNational Security ArchiveThe National Security Archive is a 501 non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located in the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1985 by Scott Armstrong, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of US...
. Declassified U.S. Documentation on Human Rights Abuses and Political Violence. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 64. Edited by Tamara Feinstein, Director, Peru Documentation Project. January 22, 2002.