Before a critical meeting planned in Brazil for early 1997 , both countries entered a period of unforeseen political events . In Peru , there was a hostage crisis in its Japanese embassy involving guerrillas of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement . Ecuador was going through a period of political instability as President Abdala Bucaram , a strong supporter of an agreement on the border issue , was removed by congress due to alleged mental incapacity . ( President Bucaram , who is known for his unusual antics , had visited Peru and was seen on TV eating ceviche and wearing alpaca hoods — a traditional indigenous outfit — along with President Alberto Fujimori . ) These delays nevertheless gave the guarantors more time to come up with a solution to the dispute . Eventually they concluded that a resolution would not be possible without granting something to each party
crisis in its Japanese embassy
Japanese embassy hostage crisis
History of the Ecuadorian–Peruvian territorial dispute