As part of the celebration of the 17th Anniversary of the People's War, at 3:00 A.M. on May 14, 1997 a contingent of the People's Army of Liberation led by the PCP attacked the heavily guarded police garrison in the District of Ate Vitarte, Lima. The Maoist combatants approached their target slowly from two directions. Prior to the attack they disarmed and captured several members of the surveillance and security team of the repressive forces. The first group of combatants clashed violently with dozens of policemen posted at the entrance of the precinct. They initially tried to resist the Maoist attack before the precinct was overrun. At least eight members of the military were annihilated and many were wounded at the door and rooftops of the building while trying to fire on the rebels. However, most of the military surrendered giving up their arms. The PCP applied its strict policy: "Soldiers, don't be a knife to your own people, give up your weapons and nothing will happen to you!" Also, a nearby hospital was notified by the rebels in advance to proceed with the evacuation of 50 patients. This request was promptly honored and there were no victims in the hospital. This fact has been recognized even by the reactionary paper, La Republica on May 16, 1997.At the same time, a second group of PCP combatants cleaned up the area from the presence of civilians. They also notified the neighborhood about the imminent explosion that blew up the hated police headquarters. A truck carrying 100 kilograms of pure dynamite converted the repressive nest of Fujimori's henchmen into trash. Additionally, the offices of Enrique Pajuelo Roldan and retired General Hector John Caro, planted by the regime as Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Ate Vitarte respectively, were completely destroyed. General Caro (a member of Fujimori's party Cambio-90) is a former head of Dincote, the counterinsurgency police.
Immediately following the explosion, supporters of the PCP spread leaflets announcing the commemoration of the launching of the People's War (ILA-80) and emphasized their support to the struggle of the street vendors who were brutally repressed by Lima's fascist Mayor Alberto Andrade a few days before. As usual, after the guerilla contingent withdrew from the area, the military arrested innocent people to show them on TV as "captured terrorists."
The reactionary regime and yellow press in Peru lamented the astonishing military action of the revolutionaries. The new Interior Minister, General Cesar Saucedo said, "we are in a red alert, we call the community to reject the terrorism of Sendero and support the peace of Fujimori," he added, "this is a desperate action by the drowning Sendero." Police Sociologist Raul Gonzalez yelled at a TV station, "Sendero considers all members of the military and police as enemies," and Carlos Tapia, an agitated Senderologist at the service of the regime stated, "with this attack Sendero signals us that they still exist, but they are split and politically and strategically defeated. Sendero is split in a two-line struggle: Guzman has called for peace talks and Feliciano continues the sporadic attacks." Aprodeh, NGO funded by the U.S. Embassy, also condemned the darling attack against this legitimate military target by the revolutionaries.
The old boot licker Patricio Rickets of Expreso said: "The car bomb is a reminder that the terrorist plague is far from being extinguished, to confront the terrorists, the paramilitary urban rondas (serenazgos) should become into a local police force under the control of the armed forces. Because security and justice are the main issues that Sendero sells to the people whenever there are anarchy and insecurity, we need to provide order and justice in our communities." (Expreso, May 17, 1997)
Mirko Lauer stated: "The fundamentalist sect Sendero Luminoso is celebrating the 17th Anniversary of the Declaration of War against Peru, and the country is still suffering from violence. In addition to the savage car bomb in Ate Vitarte -this is the only way that this armed band celebrates its anniversary. But let's not forget that more than one hundred persons have lost their lives in the first months of this year for causes linked to the repression of Sendero by the armed forces. Twenty five-thousand deaths and five thousand disappearances, two hundred fifty thousand wounded and orphans, six hundred thousand people displaced and more than twenty billion dollars are the losses of this poor country. Violence and the rampant violation of human rights have increased in our country. The only way to defeat Sendero is politically, by consolidating the democratic institutions. The healthy sectors of our society will bring peace and democracy that will defeat Sendero." (La Republica, May 17, 1997) Obviously Mr. Lauer is talking about the "democracy" brought up by tanks and bayonets during the military coup of Fujimori in 1992 along with more genocide, murder, corruption, poverty and narcotraffiking. And what is the "healthy sector" of society he is talking about? It would be cynical to call "healthy sectors of society" to the bunch of revisionists and opportunists of all stripes who lately are playing the role of "opposition" after being in bed with Fujimori and the armed forces for too long. They are mostly members of the United Left, the old dinosaurs of Apra and Perez de Cuellar (factions of the great bourgeoisie), including a demo liberal faction within the armed forces led by Generals Salinas and Robles. The people have already spoken and it has been demonstrated in deeds that the only solution for Peru is: The Victory of the People's War, and the complete and unconditional surrender of the reactionary armed forces of Fujimori.