Lonsdale's family members and the authorities were initially unaware that his kidnapping was the act of a political organization rather an ordinary attempt to extract ransom.

[2] The group first gained international attention following an attack on the marine guardhouse at the United States embassy in October 1990.

[2] On December 4, police with the Centro Especial de Investigaciones Policiales (CEIP) captured Evaristo Salazar, one of two members of the Peruvian Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement operating within the CNPZ, during a sting operation in which Lonsdale's family promised to deliver ransom.

[2] Bolivian police fatally tortured Salazar, discovered the location where the group was keeping Lonsdale, and finally shot him later that night.

[2] A forensic report indicates that at least one of the guerrillas, Italian national Michael Nothdurfter, was shot at close range in an apparent execution.