Néstor Cerpa Cartolini
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Néstor Cerpa in police mugshot

Néstor Cerpa Cartolini (August 14, 1953 – April 22, 1997) — sometimes known by the nom de guerre "Evaristo" — was a member of Shining Path, then leader of the Peruvian Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) rebel movement.

Cerpa was born in Arequipa. Originally a union leader, in the early 1980s he became involved with MRTA, apparently disappointed with the reversal of the policies of Juan Velasco. He quickly rose to be the leader of the San Martín Zone Committee and led and/or participated in:

• Putting a red communist flag in the "Plaza Unión" on September 9, 1984.
• Arson at the KFC on Avenida Benavides, Surco, on March 20, 1985.
• Attempted attack on the office of Sedapal, located in the intersection of Avenida Benavides and La Paz in Miraflores.
• Assault and armed robbery against the San Borja Galleria on March 30, 1985.
• Assault on the Julio C. Tello Technological Institute in Villa el Salvador on May 6, 1985.
• Assault and armed robbery against Electro Perú, Lima, on May 25, 1985.

Cerpa was the leader of the MRTA commando squad that seized the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in December, 1996, 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 all fourteen (MRTA) rebels.