A group of heavily armed terrorists storm an embassy compound. It quickly becomes a siege. These were man-eaters. They were used to killing. The attackers have captured senior politicians, generals, and a host of VIPs. They will hold them for over a 100 days. For the special forces, a frontal assault is impossible. Instead, they must do something radical. Attack from underground. There's never going to be anything but a military solution. At stake are the lives of 72 hostages. This is the extraordinary story of how Peruvian commandos ended one of the longest terrorist sieges in history. [Music] [Music] in the capital of Peru's UPM market diplomatic quarter. There's only one place to be seen, the Japanese ambassador's [Music] residence. 450 guests are sipping champagne and making small talk. It was a big diplomatic bash. All are prominent people from Peru's political landscape. Lots of guests. Among them are diplomats, businessmen, and members of the Peruvian president's family. as well as this man, Abro Luis Giametri, a senior figure in Peru's intelligence services. There were a lot of army and police, so there were a lot of fancy uniforms and there was a lot of gold braid. British journalist Sally Bowen is also there. There's a great deal of um whiskey being grabbed off trays from waiters as they went around. The most senior person is Francisco Tudella. When I was foreign minister, I had to go and pay my respects because it was the birthday of the emperor, Japan's national day. The building is a fortress, well protected with blast proof doors and windows. A 12-t high wall surrounds the complex. A ring of policemen and centuries protect entrances and exits. Security is the last thing on their minds. But a small team of terrorists are preparing a bold mission. They plan to sneak through the security cordon hidden in the back of an ambulance. As the guests tuck into their wine and canopes, little do they know what's in [Music] store. At 8:30 p.m., the heavily armed terrorists place a charge on the outer wall. Suddenly there was an explosion. It sounded a little like a car bomb. Everybody get on the ground. Kind of materialized in our midst. We couldn't really understand what was going on. They were very well equipped. Four of them had Uzi machine guns, Browning pistols, hand grenades. The terrorists opened fire on the guards outside the building. Guests dive for cover. It was just firing all around. [Applause] There was gunfire both from outside the residence and some of the gunmen arrived in our midst. Of course, I was trying to protect my wife and why not say the truth, protect myself. I hit the ground. The shooting intensified. Various people had run underneath the tables. It was very scary. As soon as the gunfire subsides, the terrorists turn on their captives. They were very hard on us. They kicked us. They aimed their guns at us. And they pistol whipped [Music] us. man in the land. Peru's president, Alberto Fujimori. 450 people are under the control of 14 terrorists. [Music] Fujimori has based his whole career on defeating terrorism. This was 1996 and in theory, Peru was pacified. This is what Fujimori had been telling everybody for a long time, for some 3 years. Between 1980 in 1990, an estimated 35,000 people had been killed in Peru's bloody anti-terror wars, particularly against the notorious Shining Path. The terrorism initiated by the shining path in the 1980s and 1990s was a threat to our country. It endangered our very existence. They were on the verge of taking power. For a man elected because he could defeat terrorism, this incident spells political disaster. The attack on a Japanese target also has a special resonance. Fujimori is of Japanese descent. The Japanese were targeted because they were seen to have been giving help and support and a lot of financial assistance to Fujimori and the regime. But at this stage, Alberto Fujimori doesn't know how to respond. He desperately needs more information. For a start, who are the terrorists and what do they want? [Music] At the Japanese ambassador's residence, military hostages rip off their insignia and rank and desperately attempt to hide their identity. Outside, the authorities try to shoot their way in again. Gunfire went on for 20 25 minutes. They lob in tear gas. But the rebels have come prepared. So they took out their gas masks and put them on and they were fine. The tear gas subsides. The rebel with the megaphone started shouting that he wanted the Japanese ambassador to stand up and identify himself. And I think I and certainly some people around me were quite nervous at that point because we had a horrible feeling that the ambassador was going to be executed in front of our eyes. The Japanese ambassador Morahisa Aayoki is forced to get on a megaphone. He pleads with the police to fall back and a tense calm follows. In Alberto Fujimori's operations room, the president begins to appraise the situation. He calls for a trusted aid. Vladimiro Montesenos, head of Peru's National Intelligence Service or NIS. A trained lawyer, he once defended Fujimori in court against charges of corruption. Now he's his right-hand man, the president's Mr. Fixit. We all were very much aware of the existence of Vladimir Montesinos, but he was never ever seen. He wielded extraordinary power. He was Fujimori's eyes and ears. Monteos calls upon an elite counterterrorist unit, the Peruvian commandos. The Peruvian commandos are always training for any threat to the nation. Close quarter battle, intelligence gathering, and hellborn assault are just some of their skills. Parachuting, amphibious warfare, mountain warfare, hostage rescue, storming buildings, as well as marksmanship. General Joseé Williams Tapata and Luis Alatista Rodriguez soon receive a call from Monteos. I was working in the first special forces brigade. The television showed us what was happening at the Japanese ambassador's residence. We could see that there was a considerable problem. My reaction was to order my officers and men to get ready for action. Montenos and the commandos begin to discuss the options. We rejected the possibility of an air attack using parachutes, hang gliders, or other forms of approach because we would lose the element of surprise, the secrecy. That wasn't possible. Generals Williams Tabata and Alatrica Rodriguez will have to find another way. Meanwhile, at the Ambassador's residence, the rebels are digging in. They place booby traps in doorways and around the grounds. They turn the building into a fortress. Only now do they reveal their identities. One of the rebels who was quite close to me um picked up a loud hailer and shouted, "Keep your heads down or they'll be blown off. This is the MRTA." The MRTA, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, a hardline communist rebels infamous in Peru. The MTA was specialized in kidnapping. They were ruthless and had killed a lot of people. They kidnapped several businessmen to extort money from their families. They also carried out assassinations. The terrorist commanding the raid is also the group's leader, Neesto Serpatalini. Born in Lima in the 1950s, Serpa is a former political radical who has taken up arms. [Music] He was a psychopath. He was a very bloodthirsty guy. Sera's hope is that seizing the hostages will bring the movement publicity. He identifies the English journalist Sally Bowen as someone who could be useful to him. He was very calm and collected. He was in a small study um off the hallway of the of the residence. We asked him what he was what he was about, what he was doing this for. Um and he immediately came out with the demand that um MRTA political prisoners had to be freed. Sera demands the release of 400 political prisoners including his own lover and he demands a great deal of money. They asked for a ransom of $6 million and the wholesale change of the country's economic model. They were blackmailing the government. Serpa also wants to meet the president. If his demands aren't met, he'll kill hostages. The first person in his sights is foreign minister Francisco Tudella. The leader told me that they were going to kill me the next day at 12:00. Tudela has just 14 hours to live. I told my wife I'm a dead man. And she said, don't don't talk nonsense. But I said, "Yes, it's it's the odds are against me." I was a major target for the terrorists. Luckily, one of the hostages steps in. Michelle Minik is a negotiator from the Red Cross with experience of various war zones. I think he probably felt that the ambassador might need some support. I was very relieved to see Michelle Minnik get up. Very quickly, Minnik persuades the captives to release some hostages. And I think he did an amazing job that night. Michelle made it clear to Sarapa, the the rebel commander, that uh he would do his cause a lot of good if he broadly respected the rules of warfare. Minik secures the release of the waiters and then the women and children in all 170 people. among them the wife of foreign minister Francisco Tudella. She didn't want to leave me and I said you have to go think of the children. I had small children at the time and so she reluctantly left the room but it was very emotional. It was very difficult. Sally Bone is also one of those released. We shook hands and then he said good evening. So out we went and left the residence. When the door opened, suddenly there was this battery of cameras and people shouting and um asking questions. Sally Bowen is given the task of announcing to the world's press the MRTA leaders demands. Other hostages make it clear that any attempt to storm the building would be insane. [Music] The next day, Fujimori begins a series of meetings with his cabinet. He is adamant that no MRTA prisoners will be released. Imagine for one second that the government had seeded to their demands. The next day we would have had another group like Shining Path that would have done a similar thing. That would have been unthinkable. Fujimori makes it clear he will never negotiate with a gun to his head. For Francisco Tudela, Fujimori's stance is a death sentence. He is due to be executed at noon. His life hangs in the balance. The deadline comes. Serp does nothing. But he warns to Dela that he is living on borrowed time. He said to me, "You know, foreign minister, I admire your work, but I have to kill you." In fact, a few hours later, four more hostages are released by Serpa. All of them diplomats. Meanwhile, preparations to retake the ambassador's residence are continuing. Thanks to the released hostages, the commandos are getting valuable intelligence. They learn of the enemy's strength and positions. We knew there were 14 terrorists, that they had all come in with heavy weapons. They had rocket propelled grenades. They had prepared for this operation and they knew exactly what to bring. They study a scale model of the complex, looking for a way in. A frontal attack is out of the question. The only way forward is to do something truly radical. Approaching from above ground was immensely challenging because of the explosives. So that's how we came to the idea of approaching from below by tanos from below ground. Operation Chavinda is born. The name refers to a Peruvian archaeological site known for its network of tunnels. [Music] The plan is to dig into the compound at a depth of 3 [Music] m. Nothing like this has ever been attempted before. The main tunnel will be 20 m long with other tunnels feeding outwards. It will take at least a month to dig from the nearby buildings to reach the objective. They can't use heavy machinery as the sound could tip off the terrorists. The largest tools will be electric pickaxes. Over the coming days, the operation begins. [Music] For now, though, Seratalini seems to be enjoying himself. [Music] In late December, as a gesture of seasonal goodwill, he releases more people, 225 in all, in the hope of grabbing the headlines. For a long time, one felt that the guerillas were winning the propaganda war. They seemed to be more open and ready to talk than um the Peruvian government. There were there was absolute hermetic silence from the Peruvian government. Whilst the authorities keep their cards close to their chest, the terrorists revel in all their newfound fame. They had a very good sense for publicity. Um they knew that photographers and camera people needed images. The MRTA would hang banners out of the window periodically um all part of the propaganda war. 15 days into the siege on New Year's Day 1997, the MRTA pull off an astonishing propaganda coup. There was the famous incident when we finally managed to get permission for some of the photographers and um camera people to file past the residence so at least they could get some images of the exterior. The front door opened and Serpa invited everybody in. So they all went in and had their photo opportunities with the gorillas. I spoke to the foreign press when they came into the embassy on New Year's Day. He tried to sell this idea that they were fair combatants, that they were guerillas that respected the Geneva Conventions. [Music] Despite appearing to be reasonable, the siege drags on. For those unlucky enough to remain inside, life settles into a strange routine. Mostly boredom is the biggest enemy. Hostages take turns to give talks on different subjects. Some run the corridors to keep fit. Others do chores like cleaning. [Music] First comes surprise, fear, anguish, and anger. But then there comes a moment when you start to assimilate it all and you learn to live with it. And all you want is for it to end one way or the other. At night, the hostages have to sleep on the floor. It is cold, cramped, airless. It's hard to sleep in this way. We found it hard to get used to it. For Admiral Jampietri, nighttime is a chance to reflect. It was a chance to be alone with your thoughts. There was silence. You could reconstruct the events of the [Music] day. Occasionally the terrorists show their true colors. [Music] something Francisco Tudella experiences. You had two terrorists by your side pointing the guns at your head. They pulled the [Music] trigger. You hear click the empty chamber. And that's a moment in which you have a mixture of fear and relief. 4 weeks in, 72 hostages remain inside. But with none of Serpa's demands met, the siege is stuck in stalemate. For the terrorist leader, the lack of progress is unsettling. The stress starts to get to him. He had sharp changes in his mood. He became overexited and violent. And then after a few hours he would lie down and sleep. Then he would wake up and feel anguish, put his hands in the in his face, go to a window to breathe. And then the cycle would begin again and he would become again violent. [Music] It is also a troubling time for President Alberto Fujimori. Outwardly, he too seems to be making little progress. So, he tries something new. Troop carriers and heavy guns are brought in and loud music is played around the embassy. It's a well-known trick of psychological warfare designed to shred the nerves of those inside. This was one of the greatest tortures for us. The noise was extraordinary. We couldn't talk amongst ourselves because the noise was so loud. But all this has a reason to conceal the digging. Loud music was played with the aim of distracting the terrorists. When we were nearby, we made noise, put music on so they couldn't hear the work that was going on underground. As a further distraction, Fujimori seems to be stepping up the action on the diplomatic front. There was Fujimori dashing off um on missions to negotiate possible asylum. His team of negotiators leazes daily with the hostage takers. Without doubt, none of us wanted a military operation. We preferred a solution that would allow us to get out alive. Fujimi travels to London to see if Britain will give the MRTA asylum. The whole situation was very confused. There seemed to be activity on a different range of [Music] levels. But this diplomatic front is a ploy to hide what's really going on. The digging is nearing the target, and anyone who knows Fujimori is in no doubt as to his real intentions. I knew my government. I knew President Fujimari. It was not only a decision of President Fujimori. It was a a decision of a country that had suffered during more than a decade of horrendous terrorist attacks. All the while underground, the miners are moving ever closer to their objective. It is just a matter of time. In April, almost 4 months into the siege, Serpa makes a concession to break the deadlock. He drops the number of MRTA prisoners he once released from 400 to just 20. By now, it's nearing summer. The temperature outside, it's 26°. For the captives and their hostages inside, the long siege starts to take its toll. The Peruvian authorities have turned off the water and electricity. Conditions are getting rank off. No running water, no electricity. No hygiene. With the water turned off, the toilets back up. The bathrooms soon broke down. Many people had loose bowels. The smell was overpowering. But the awful conditions are part of the army plan. It forces the terrorists to rely on supplies from the outside. This was deliberate to control the flow of supplies into the building. The only source of provisions and fresh water is the Red Cross, which makes regular deliveries to those inside. So the members of the International Red Cross were would ferry food in and out every day. So they they went in and out of the residence on a daily basis. What nobody knows, not even the Red Cross, is that the aid packages contain something else. The authorities have hidden high-tech gadgetry in the deliveries, and they are intended for one man, Admiral Luis Diaetri. Amongst the board games, religious artifacts, books, and even musical instruments are tiny microphones and cameras. Specialist technicians from Peru's intelligence services have customuilt tiny eavesdropping devices. The intelligence service provided microphones that were being smuggled in, concealed in different objects, in a guitar, in some books, the provisions. In this way, they could listen to information, get it down on paper, and then pass it to us so that we could put it to use. Some of the listening devices are no bigger than a match. The cameras are also minute and contain tiny transmitters. Over the weeks of the siege, an amazing 800 microphones are smuggled in. Admiral Luis Gampetry secretly places them around the residence with the help of others. The microphones aren't just for eavesdropping. They also allow him to communicate with the [Music] commandos. Talking into the microphones was not easy. Maintaining secrecy from all the other hostages was also very difficult, but I had to keep it secret because I didn't know if they agreed with what I was doing. [Music] To conceal what he's doing, he is sent a Bible with a hidden microphone. He starts to read aloud from the pages. The MRTA soon dismiss it as the prayers of a madman. But within each prayer, Gampetri drops in key pieces of intelligence. We knew that he was ex naval special forces. He spoke our language. He knew commando terminology. And he was our best contact amongst the hostages. In their situation room, the commandos listen in as key intelligence is gathered from all the different microphones. Gradually they start to build up a detailed picture of what is going on. We listen to the terrorists as well. So we gained more information which would allow us to improve our operation to rescue the hostages. They learn that at night the rebels are especially vigilant. This is when they most fear an attack. Some sleep amongst the hostages. Whilst others rotate guard duties, Jampietri's intelligence also reveals one crucial piece of information. Every afternoon, four members of the group play a game of football. The large dining room on the ground floor becomes their pitch. Whenever the rebels play, many of their comrades watch on. This is when they are at their most distracted and vulnerable. So if they were all together playing football downstairs in the dining room, we could take them out in one go. The afternoon football game is clearly the moment to strike. So, the commanders adjust their plan. They dig a special tunnel straight under the dining room. We decided to make a branch from the main tunnel to under the residence where they played football. In this new tunnel, the commanders will place something special. From this arose the idea of placing explosives underneath the hall and the dining room with the intention of taking the majority of the terrorists out. This way they would have less chance to kill the hostages. Even if the dining room bomb doesn't kill many terrorists, it will at least achieve something else. as a secondary objective. Obviously, an explosion of this nature under a house would create such confusion that they would be disorientated and incapable of reacting. [Music] As zero hour approaches, the commandos now finalize their plan. There were to be two assault squads. For the ground floor, team Alpha for the first floor, Delta Squad. The group that would do the raid includes Miguel Veloras Roas. I was part of group Delta. My section leader was Commander Renard and I was the fifth man in that team. 150 soldiers rehearse over and over using a life-size replica of the complex. They practice different room clearing tactics and test different types of explosives. We tested the exact amount needed. Not too much that it blew up the residents and the hostages. Not too little that it had no effect. They're nearly ready. Then there's a complication. The journalists who were virtually living on the rooftops around the embassy became aware that there was a lot of noise um from underneath the ground. So we all learned that tunnels were being dug. Serp flies into a rage. He threatens the hostages and gathers them all upstairs so they can be killed more quickly in the event of a raid. He breaks off negotiations entirely. What he doesn't realize is that he has just played into Fujimor's hands. By refusing to negotiate and refusing to guarantee the health of the hostages, Serpa has given Fujimori the excuse to act. The decision was made to carry out the raid and rescue the hostages. The commandos are finally ready. The tunnels have been dug. Late in April, 126 days since the siege began, the commandos are given the green light. It was around 3:00 in the afternoon, a still warm um lemur summer afternoon. A message is sent to Luis Gianietri to make sure the hostages are wearing light colored clothing. This will differentiate them from the terrorists in their dark combat fatigues. [Music] Gianetri instructs them to lie on the floor and keep their heads down. Francisco Tudella is one of the few who knows what is about to unfold. I was one of the five people who knew the of the communications between Admir Petri and the the military. And so I knew when the attack was coming. As the rebels start their afternoon game of football, Admiral Gampetri whispers into his Bible as if praying. He tells the commandos that the guards are distracted. He also transmits the confirmation that he has got all the hostages to wear light clothing. [Music] A team is sent to set the charge under the dining [Music] room. Just after 3 p.m. [Music] We made our way in via the main tunnel. The commandos suddenly emerge after months of inaction. Bursts of gunfire and smoke appearing from the top of the residence. All this was being transmitted by TV cameras and it was live on television immediately. As planned, one force, Alpha, storms downstairs, while the other, Delta, hits the upper floor and seeks out the hostages. Delta, the Delta group was in charge of the second floor, and they entered around the whole perimeter as well. We entered the residence in six places at once. [Music] A second wave of commandos attacks the front of the building while another scales the walls on ladders. More blasts signal the arrival of more elite soldiers as Delta Team assaults the upper floor from the terrace. They started to evacuate in an orderly fashion. Bangs, gunfire, hostages scurrying down flights of stairs on the outside, keeping their heads down. With many of the hostages safe, the commandos move in for the kill. Over the next 15 minutes, they flush out the terrorists. [Music] But it's still not over for Francisco Tudela, who remains trapped in his hiding [Music] place. One of the terrorists comes looking for him. the terrorist that was my my executor. He looked for me in the room and then saw me in the terrace. He threw a hand grenade. I received 60 pieces of shrapnel. I still have 18. Then he shot me. He failed the first two times, but the third time he got me in the leg. Despite his wounds, Tadella manages to escape. I recall one um stretcher being carried out. Um I think we almost immediately identified Francis Gutella who'd been shot. I remember that Admiral Jean Petri when he reached that point in the garden uh saw me and said you are wounded and say I said no we are free. I was exhilarated. As the smoke clears, all 14 terrorists are dead, including Serper. Only one hostage doesn't make it out alive. He is wounded and dies from a heart attack. Two commandos are killed. The whole raid lasts 32 minutes from beginning to end. For President Alberto Fujimori, it is a triumph. In the final act of showmanship, he visits the building. He supervises the removal of the MRTA flags and congratulates his commandos. This is Fujimori at his most ebulliant, having taken a huge gamble and having it come off. The raid is seen as a great victory. I don't know. However, if Fujimori and Montenos thought the raid would make them politically invincible, they were mistaken. Both are now in jail on corruption charges. Nevertheless, the raid remains a source of pride for those who took part. Every commando aspires to take part in this sort of event. [Music] For me, it is a matter of personal pride. We did it for Peru, and I will always be proud to have led this group of [Music] men. All Peruvians feel proud of this operation because it was a success. The most successful rescue mission in the world. The raid sends the message, "Peru won't tolerate terrorism. You should never negotiate with terrorists or give into their demands. Because of the success of the Chavinto operation, the Tupacamaro revolutionary movement was effectively defeated. Today, Peru is largely free of terrorism and is reaping the benefits thanks in part to the work of the commandos. [Music]