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 . 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 Chilean members of the organization , and U.S. citizen Lori Berenson . 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 Cerpa along with the rest of the MRTA squad
Japanese embassy hostage crisis
Japanese embassy hostage crisis
Néstor Cerpa Cartolini