View source for Peruvian prison massacres

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Peruvian prison massacres
| partof = 
| image = Las_ruinas_del_Frontón_2013-04-04_06-58.jpg
| image_size = 350px
| alt = 
| caption = Ex prison [[El Frontón]]
| map = 
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| location = [[Lima]] (Lurigancho and Santa Bárbara prison in [[San Juan de Lurigancho]]) and [[Callao]] ([[El Frontón]] prison), [[Peru]]
| target = prisoners including [[Bolivia]]ns who were collaborators of the [[Shining Path]]
| coordinates = 
| date = {{start date|1986|06|18}}–{{end date|1986|06|19}}
| time = 
| timezone = 
| type = Massacres, mass executions
| fatalities = 224–300 executed<ref>{{cite web|access-date=10 May 2019 |date=19 June 2014 |title=Así ocurrió: En 1986 ocurre la matanza de los penales |work=El Comercio |url=https://elcomercio.pe/lima/ocurrio-1986-ocurre-matanza-penales-331222 |last1=Ec |first1=Redacción }}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name="larep" /><ref name=":542222" />
| injuries = 
| victims = <!-- or | victim = -->
| perpetrators = [[Peruvian Army]]<br> [[Peruvian Navy]]<br> [[Peruvian Republican Guard]]<br> [[Grupo Colina]]
| assailants = <!-- or | assailant = -->
| susperps = <!-- or | susperp = -->
| weapons = 
| numparts = <!-- or | numpart = -->
| dfens = <!-- or | dfen = -->
| motive = [[Anticommunism]]<br> [[Antiterrorism]]<br> [[Bolivia|Anti-Bolivian sentiment]]
| inquiry = 
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{{Peru conflict}}
{{Alan García series}}The '''Peruvian prison massacres''' occurred on June 18&ndash;19, 1986, after a series of [[prison riot|riots]] in the [[Lurigancho]], Santa Bárbara, and [[El Frontón]] prisons in [[Lima]] and [[Callao]]. The military repression of these riots resulted in at least 224 to 300 deaths.<ref name="larep">{{cite web|access-date=10 May 2019 |archive-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509135919/https://larepublica.pe/data/matanza-en-el-fronton/ |publisher=La República |title=EL JUICIO FINAL: La matanza del Frontón |url=http://larepublica.pe/data/matanza-en-el-fronton/}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name=":542222">{{cite journal|access-date=30 April 2023 |date=May–June 1998 |number=100 |page=94 |periodical=Debate |publisher=Apoyo Comunicaciones |title=La masacre en los penales |url=https://cedoc.sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/public/pdf/revistas/portada_debate/Debate%20N%C2%B0100.pdf |volume=XX}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name=HRW>{{cite web |title=World Prison Massacres |url=https://www.hrw.org/advocacy/prisons/killings.htm |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206022018/http://www.hrw.org/advocacy/prisons/killings.htm |archive-date=February 6, 2008 }}</ref><ref name=Weschler>{{cite book |last=Weschler |first=Joanna |title=The Human Rights Watch global report on prisons |year=1993 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=1-56432-101-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/humanri_xxx_1993_00_1381/page/93 93] |url=https://archive.org/details/humanri_xxx_1993_00_1381/page/93 }}</ref>

==Antecedents==
[[File:El Fronton.jpg|thumb|right|[[Shining Path]] poster of the prison at El Frontón]]
During the [[internal conflict in Peru]], the bloody campaign by the Peruvian [[Maoism|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.<ref name="CVRdead">{{harv|Truth and Reconciliation Commission|2003|loc=[http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/pdf/Tomo%20-%20ANEXOS/ANEXO%202.pdf Annex 2], p. 17.}}</ref>

At the beginning of his 1985 to 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.

==Riots==
On June 18, 1986, at approximately 6:00 AM, prisoners rioted within multiple prison facilities in Lima and Callao.  The riots took place while a congress of the [[Socialist International]], of which Alan García's [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|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 García and senior military commanders present. 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, the Shining Path launched a wave of 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 Guard (Peru)|Republican Guard]], 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 of Peru|Joint Command of the Armed Forces]] as it had been declared a restricted military zone. 3 members of the Peruvian navy died during the assault.<ref>{{Cite news |title="Lo de El Frontón fue un combate, tuvimos 3 muertos" |url=https://diariocorreo.pe/politica/lo-de-el-fronton-fue-un-combate-tuvimos-3-muertos-791048/ |last=Slocovich Pardo |first=Ivan |date=2017-12-10 |work=Correo}}</ref>

Later, the Navy, with [[Peruvian Naval Infantry|Naval Infantry]] support, attacked the "Blue Ward" of El Frontón, which was where Shining Path guerrilla members were imprisoned. 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 guerrillas 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 guerrillas surrendered. Hours later, numerous prisoners who had occupied the building lay dead; most had been [[Extrajudicial punishment|executed]] one by one with 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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Garcia and the Military: Plea for International Support |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB64/peru10.pdf |publisher=Hosted by the [[National Security Archive]] |format=1986 State 205132 |date=June 28, 1986 |access-date=January 31, 2007 }}</ref>  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.<ref name=HRW/><ref name=Weschler/>

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 authors of the massacre] go or I go." Nevertheless, nothing was ever done to punish the guilty.  [[Luis Giampietri]], the naval officer in command of the operation, later became Alan García's vice president.

==Congressional inquiry==
The ensuing international outrage exerted enormous pressure on the Peruvian Government to establish an independent commission of inquiry. The Peruvian Congress quickly moved on to approve a special-mandated body in August 1986, but political negotiations regarding its composition dragged the appointment of its member for a whole year. Finally, in August 1987 the ad-hoc commission of inquiry's configuration was agreed consisting of six senators and seven representatives.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Commission of Inquiry: Peru 86. Truth Commissions Digital Collection|url=https://www.usip.org/publications/1986/08/commission-inquiry-peru-86|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311055853/https://www.usip.org/publications/1986/08/commission-inquiry-peru-86|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2017|access-date=7 June 2021|website=[[United States Institute of Peace]]}}</ref> The 13-member body comprised twelve men and one woman, with six seats assigned to opposition parties and seven to the Government party (APRA) and allies.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://lum.cultura.pe/cdi/sites/default/files/documento/pdf/88.%20Actualidad.%20Rolando%20Ames.%20El%20caso%20de%20los%20penales.%20No%20nos%20acostumbramos%20a%20la%20muerte__%28p6-10%29.PDF|title=Informe sobre el caso de los penales|publisher=CEP Centro de Estudios y Publicaciones, Revista Paginas|year=1987|location=Peru|pages=1|language=Spanish|quote=Opposition members: Senator Rolando Ames Cobián (IU), Senator Jorge del Prado (IU), Representative Agustin Haya de la Torre (IU), Representative Oscar Ventura (IU), Representative Javier Bedoya (PPC) and Representative Aureo Zegarra (AP). Government and allies members: Senator Cesar Delgado (DC), Senator  Miguel Angel Mufarech (Independent) and 2 Senators and 3 Representatives from the ruling APRA party.}}</ref> However, the chair was yielded to one opposition figure, Senator [https://files.pucp.education/agenda/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/26211300/SEMBLANZA-EM%C3%89RITO-ROLANDO-AMES-1.pdf Rolando Ames Cobián].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 December 2020|title=Rolando Ames Cobián es nombrado profesor emérito PUCP en reconocimiento a su destacada labor como docente y al servicio de los derechos humanos.|url=https://idehpucp.pucp.edu.pe/notas-informativas/rolando-ames-cobian-es-profesor-emerito-pucp-en-reconocimiento-a-su-destacada-labor-como-docente-y-al-servicio-de-los-derechos-humanos/|access-date=7 June 2021|website=IDEHPUCP}}</ref> The commission was granted 4 months to complete its probe and ultimately became deadlocked between two irreconcilable blocks: one supported by the opposition congressmen's that criticised the state's response<ref name=":0" /> and one loyal to the regime, which wanted to avoid attributing responsibility for the abuses.

==See also==
*[[National Penitentiary Institute (Peru)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://lesmaterialistes.com/dessins-refletant-guerre-populaire-perou Propaganda graphics on prison massacres in Peru]
*[http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/pdf/TOMO%20VII/Casos%20Ilustrativos-UIE/2.67.FRONTON%20Y%20LURIGANCHO.pdf Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales en el penal de El Frontón y Lurigancho (1986)] {{in lang|es}} - [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]
*[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB64/index.html Peru in "The Eye of the Storm"] - The [[National Security Archive]]. 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.

{{Internal conflict in Peru}}
{{Prison riots and uprisings}}
{{coord missing|Peru}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peruvian Prison Massacres}}
[[Category:1986 in Peru]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1986]]
[[Category:20th-century executions by Peru]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1986]]
[[Category:Internal conflict in Peru]]
[[Category:Massacres in Peru]]
[[Category:Political repression in Peru]]
[[Category:Anti-communism in Peru]]
[[Category:Anti-communist terrorism]]
[[Category:People executed by Peru by firearm]]
[[Category:Prison massacres]]
[[Category:Prison riots in South America]]
[[Category:Prison uprisings]]
[[Category:June 1986 in South America]]
[[Category:1986 murders in Peru]]
[[Category:National Police of Peru]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1986]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Peru]]
[[Category:20th-century mass murder in Peru]]
[[Category:Attacks on government buildings and structures in South America]]