Hostages freed: How Peru did it

Cohen: U.S. 'played virtually no role'

In this story:

• 'We had a 10-minute warning'
• U.S. trained police prior to crisis
• Related stories and sites

April 23, 1997
Web posted at: 4:13 p.m. EDT (2013 GMT)

LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- With well-trained precision and a secret warning to the hostages, government commandos set off a blast in a tunnel underneath the Japanese ambassador's residence to surprise rebels and end the 126-day hostage crisis.

The attack started with a 3:17 p.m. explosion Tuesday in a tunnel under the main hall where eight of the rebels were playing indoor soccer. The tunnel was presumably the same one rebel leader Nestor Cerpa said was being dug six weeks ago when he suspended talks with government negotiators.

Cerpa had alleged the government was digging a tunnel for a surprise attack.

After blasting the area underneath the rebels, part of a 140- man elite military-police team then poured through the compound's front gate and blasted open the mansion's front door.

Other soldiers attacked from the rear, and a third unit climbed to the rooftop and helped hostages flee the building.

Moments later, smoke poured from the residence. Triumphant soldiers hauled down the guerrillas' red flag, and hostages and rescuers cheered and jubilantly sang the Peruvian national anthem.

'We had a 10-minute warning'

Bolivian Ambassador Jorge Gumucio, one of the men held by Tupac Amaru rebels for more than four months, said the tunnel explosion killed or injured eight of the hostage-takers instantly.

"We had a 10-minute warning. They gave us instructions to throw ourselves to the ground and not move for anything," said Gumucio, adding that some of the Peruvian military officers who were captives knew about the rescue plan.

He declined to say how Peruvian officials warned the captives. A source said the warning was electronic but did not elaborate.

U.S. trained police prior to crisis

Bob Taubert, a former FBI agent who helped train a police unit that participated in the Lima rescue, called the operation "highly successful."

The training was conducted in the United States prior to December 17, when the rebels took over the ambassador's residence. "It had been planned before this," Taubert told CNN in a live interview from Fredericksburg, Virginia.

He said the training was "part of a State Department program to assist police from emerging democratic countries." Taubert said the training he provided did not involve Peruvian commandos who conducted the bulk of the rescue operation.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary William Cohen said "the U.S. played virtually no role" in the attack.

Asked if the U.S. had provided any assistance throughout the siege, Cohen told CNN: "We have offered services to the Peruvian government, the exact nature of which I really can't say. But this was principally and solely an operation by the Peruvian government."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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