Three years before the riot, a violent incident took place between gangs from Lima proper and Callao, leaving 31 people dead, among them 29 suffocated and asphyxiated.

[6] Five Republican Guards and one civilian employee were injured during the escape, which took place parallel to a speech being given by President Fernando Belaúnde at the Legislative Palace announcing that the Peruvian State would begin to directly exploit the deposits of La Brea y Pariñas.

[7] Of the escapees, three (Alejandro García Rodríguez, Eusebio Araníbar and Victor Bravo Elías) died due to torture, while one (Victor Torres Murray) was identified as belonging to a notorious criminal gang ran by Guillermo "La Gringa" Portugal Delgado, best known for his escape attempts from El Frontón, known as the "Banda de la metralleta" after the submachine gun stolen by Portugal.

[7] The gang had been responsible for a series of violent crimes in the years prior to the escape attempt that had left two people dead and many more injured, most notably in the robberies of a petrol station in Chancay and a pharmacy in Lima.

[6] Another escape attempt took place on Sunday, January 3, 1971, where three out of eleven inmates were immediately recaptured after being shot by law enforcement guarding the prison.

Unbeknownst to the prisoners, the van was occupied by law enforcement special forces, who opened fire once the light had been cut off.