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41 Seconds to Freedom: Inside the Most Spectacular Hostage Rescue of Our Time and Its Stunning Aftermath
On December 18, 1997, more than six hundred VIPs were attending the birthday party of the Japanese ambassador to Peru at his elegant residence. Political figures, business leaders, and socialites mingled in a tented pavilion on expansive grounds. Then, without warning, fourteen masked, heavily armed figures burst in.
Members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), a deadly Cuban-influenced band of insurgents, the terrorists demanded the release of four hundred of their comrades from prison–or they would kill all the hostages. The event inspired a media frenzy–especially when Peru’s president, Alberto Fujimori, refused to negotiate.
What the public didn’t know was that Fujimori had immediately begun planning a military assault–with the help of one particular party guest. Luis Giampietri had been a field commander of special operation forces that had fought terrorists, including the MRTA. His quick suppression of a prison mutiny by Shining Path revolutionaries had made him a feared enemy. Now, dismissed by his captors as a harmless retiree, he became a crucial component of a complex commando rescue operation.
41 Seconds to Freedom is Giampietri’s inside account of the unnerving ordeal and its resolution through heroism and sheer audacity. Here he tells how he used his pager to reveal to the commandos outside the terrorists’ positions, habits, and tactics; how one young female terrorist became infatuated with a Japanese hostage–with fateful consequences; how a Red Cross employee was discovered to be in league with the MRTA; and how the rescue took all of 41 seconds from start to finish.
But Giampietri’s story doesn’t end when the crisis did. The corruption inquiry after President Fujimori’s subsequent fall from power cast doubt on the entire operation, painting liberators as executioners and making Giampietri feel “forever a hostage.”
As riveting as any fictional thriller, and by turns encouraging and cautionary, 41 Seconds to Freedom is an invaluable account of one of the most dramatic terrorist hostage takings in history.
Members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), a deadly Cuban-influenced band of insurgents, the terrorists demanded the release of four hundred of their comrades from prison–or they would kill all the hostages. The event inspired a media frenzy–especially when Peru’s president, Alberto Fujimori, refused to negotiate.
What the public didn’t know was that Fujimori had immediately begun planning a military assault–with the help of one particular party guest. Luis Giampietri had been a field commander of special operation forces that had fought terrorists, including the MRTA. His quick suppression of a prison mutiny by Shining Path revolutionaries had made him a feared enemy. Now, dismissed by his captors as a harmless retiree, he became a crucial component of a complex commando rescue operation.
41 Seconds to Freedom is Giampietri’s inside account of the unnerving ordeal and its resolution through heroism and sheer audacity. Here he tells how he used his pager to reveal to the commandos outside the terrorists’ positions, habits, and tactics; how one young female terrorist became infatuated with a Japanese hostage–with fateful consequences; how a Red Cross employee was discovered to be in league with the MRTA; and how the rescue took all of 41 seconds from start to finish.
But Giampietri’s story doesn’t end when the crisis did. The corruption inquiry after President Fujimori’s subsequent fall from power cast doubt on the entire operation, painting liberators as executioners and making Giampietri feel “forever a hostage.”
As riveting as any fictional thriller, and by turns encouraging and cautionary, 41 Seconds to Freedom is an invaluable account of one of the most dramatic terrorist hostage takings in history.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 17, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 10, 2018
"Clearly the inequality in our society and the unfair treatment it breeds play into terrorists' hands. If we do not overcome this inequality, providing resources and hope to those the terrorists would recruit, violence will be our constant companion."
The above quote could have been written about many countries and many times. It appears in this book in the words of the author, one of those who survived 4 months of captivity by the brutal Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in the residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Lima, Peru. In December of 1997, more than 600 people were taken hostage by 14 terrorists. Although many were released soon after, 72 of the captives survived in captivity for 4 months until rescued in an amazing military feat, aided in its planning by the author from inside the residency.
The author wonders how the young terrorists became the people they were, willing, perhaps anxious, to die if necessary for their cause. His reflections on this issue caused him later to become involved in government and politics.
I first read this book several years ago, while I was preparing to move to Peru. After living in Lima for 5 years and forgetting many of the details, and in light of current worldwide events, I needed to re-read it. I had thought I would recommend it to anyone who lives, or plans to live in Peru. After my re-read, I am recommending it to anyone who is interested in societal and economic inequality, in terroristm, or in knowing more about our world and what drives it. It could also be a good book for those who simply like to read about amazing feats of survival by their fellow man.
The above quote could have been written about many countries and many times. It appears in this book in the words of the author, one of those who survived 4 months of captivity by the brutal Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in the residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Lima, Peru. In December of 1997, more than 600 people were taken hostage by 14 terrorists. Although many were released soon after, 72 of the captives survived in captivity for 4 months until rescued in an amazing military feat, aided in its planning by the author from inside the residency.
The author wonders how the young terrorists became the people they were, willing, perhaps anxious, to die if necessary for their cause. His reflections on this issue caused him later to become involved in government and politics.
I first read this book several years ago, while I was preparing to move to Peru. After living in Lima for 5 years and forgetting many of the details, and in light of current worldwide events, I needed to re-read it. I had thought I would recommend it to anyone who lives, or plans to live in Peru. After my re-read, I am recommending it to anyone who is interested in societal and economic inequality, in terroristm, or in knowing more about our world and what drives it. It could also be a good book for those who simply like to read about amazing feats of survival by their fellow man.
September 14, 2022
There's a lot more to this book than the story of the the men held hostage by Marxist terrorists and the daring rescue that freed them. That part is drenched with page-turning action and suspense, but Luis Giampietri also provides primers on the social and political history of Peru and the country's epic struggles with revolutionary Communism. Thrills abound, but so do education and enlightenment. Recommended for students of Latin America, military tacticians, Marxists, anti-Marxists and everyone who just loves a gripping true tale.
April 17, 2024
Some paragraphs are poorly translated from Spanish to English. Honor y Gloria a los Comandos Chavin de Huantar.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews