Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación

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Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads illegally set up by officials within the Spanish government to fight ETA. They were active from 1983 until 1987, under PSOE's cabinets. It was proven in a judicial trial that they were financed and backed by key officials within the Spanish Homeland Ministry. The Spanish daily El Mundo played a key role revealing the plot with its series on the matter.

1 History
- 1.1 Chronology of attacks
2 Convicted GAL members
3 Similar groups
4 See also
5 External links
6 Books

[edit] History

GAL operated mainly in the Basque Country, mostly on the French side of the border, but kidnapping, tortures and economic crimes were also carried out in other parts of Spain. The victims were both members and supporters of ETA, and people unconnected to terrorism. The groups were active from 1983 to 1987 committing 27 killings. This period is often referred to as part of "La guerra sucia" (The dirty war) in Spanish history.

The GAL did not have a proper or consistent ideology, they just acted as retaliation to the ETA actions. Thus, the actual perpetrators were never militants in a political sense but mercenaries or policemen (Lasa-Zabala case, in which Guardias Civiles were charged and sentenced [1], Larraetxea case, etc.)

The kidnapping and later killing of Joxe Antonio Lasa and Joxe Ignacio Zabala in October 1983 and the kidnapping of Segundo Marey in 1983, marked the beginning of the group.

Felipe González, then Prime Minister of Spain, was suspected to be involved with the GAL as a result of the long series of investigative journalism which the Spanish daily El Mundo and other Spanish media devoted to the matter. It is generally believed that although González quite probably knew about the GAL, he wasn't forced to stand trial in order to avoid such a tremendous discredit of the Spanish institutions. Some government officials went to extreme lengths to punish El Mundo for the intromission years later, when, with the help of a renowned unethical lawyer (Emilio Rodríguez Menéndez), a plot against El Mundo director Pedro J. Ramírez was orchestrated, which resulted in a video recording of Ramírez having sex with a prostitute. She had been hired with the only intent of recording the video, which eventually made its way to the public. Rodríguez Menéndez and those officials have been found guilty and given sentences of up to four years in prison.

The GAL was one of the main subjects of the campaign for the elections of 1996 in which Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was surpassed by José María Aznar's People's Party (PP) for the first time. Felipe González then resigned as leader of the party. With the exception of Ricardo García Damborenea, PSOE leaders have never acknowledged responsibility for the GAL, and have condemned their crimes verbally. González himself has never been charged with a GAL offence, but he's asked publicly for pardon for his former subordinates. In general, PSOE leaders refuse to treat ETA and GAL crimes in the same way. Aznar's government was generous in granting pardons to Socialists convicted of GAL crimes.

After 1987, when the GAL disbanded, the French government adopted a harsher attitude towards Basque refugees, denying the status of political refugee to new applicants, and facilitating extraditions asked for by Spanish judges. This evolution weakened ETA's veterans. It is believed that the GAL were a major factor in ensuring ETA's survival into the 1990s and beyond, helping to preserve the image of an authoritarian state in war against the Basque people.

[edit] Chronology of attacks

1983:
- October 17: Kidnapping and assassination of alleged ETA members Joxe Lasa Arostegi and José Ignacio Zabala. Reivindicated. Their mutilated corpses were found in Alicante in 1995. Several Guardia Civiles were eventually sentenced for this case, though allegations of tortures were dismissed.
- October 18: Kidnap attempt in Bayonne of alleged ETA leader José Mari Larretxea Goñi by four Spanish policemen. The four agents were arrested by French gendarmes.
- December 4: Kidnapping of Segundo Marey by mercenaries hired by the Spanish police. They demanded the liberation of the four policemen arrested by the kidnap attempt of Larraetxea. The policemen were released the in December 8th and Marey the 13th. S. Marey was not related to ETA in any way and he was apparently kidnapped by error.
- December 19: Assassination of Ramón Oñaederra, alleged ETA member, in Bayonne.
- December 29: Assassination of Mikel Goikoetxea, alleged ETA leader, in Bayonne, by a mercenary sharpshooter.
1984:
- February 8: Assassination of Vicente Perurena and Angel Gurmindo, alleged ETA members, in Bayonne.
- February 25: Assassination by a sharpshooter of Eugenio Gutiérrez Salazar, alleged ETA member, in Mendi.
- March 1: Assassination of railroad worker Jean Pierre Leyba in Hendaye.
- March 23: Assassination of Javier Pérez Arenaza, alleged ETA leader, in Biarritz.
- March (unclear date): Assassination attempt of Ramón Basañez Jauregi, alleged ETA member, in Bayonne. He was gravely injured but survived.
- May 3: Assassination of Rafael Goikoetxea, alleged ETA member, in Baigorri. His companion esús Zugarramurdi is injured.
- May 26: Kidnapping and torturing of Rafael and Endika Lorenzo, members of the Anti-Nuclear Committees in Algorta (Getxo, Biscay).
- June 15: Assassination of Tomás Pérez Revilla, alleged ETA member, by a bomb hidden in a motorcycle in Biarritz. His companion Ramón Orbe is injured.
- July 10: Bomb atatck against the tavern Consolation. Three people are injured: José Oliva Gallastegi, Bonifacio García and Juan Jauregi Aurria.
- November 18: Assassination of dancer Christian Olaskoaga in Biriatou. He had no relationship with ETA.
- November 20: Assassination of Santiago Brouard, leader of HASI in his own medical consultory in Bilbao.
- December 11: Attack against José Iradier in Hendaye, injured.
1985:
- February 1: Attack against Xabier Manterola, leader of Herri Taldeak, injured.
- February 5: Bomb attack against Christian Casteigts in Bayonne, injured. He doesn't seem to be related with ETA in any way.
- March 29: Attack against Les Pyreneés tavern in Bayonne. Benoit Pecasteing is fatally injured and also Jean Marc Mutio and Pedro José Pikabea are injured as well. Pikabea allegedly was member of ETA.
- March 30: Assassination of photographer journalist Xabier Galdeano in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
- June 26: Assassination of Santos Blanco González, alleged ETA member, in Bayonne.
- June (unclear date): Attack against the Trinkete tavern in Ciboure: Emile Weiss and Claude Doer are killed. They had no relation whatsoever with ETA.
- August 31: Assassination of Dominique Labeyrie in St. Jean de Luz. He had no relation with ETA either.
- September 2: Assassination of Juan Manuel Otegi, alleged ETA member, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
- September 25: Attack against the Monbar hotel in Bayonne. José Mari Etxaniz, Iñaki Asteazu Izarra, Agustín Irazustabarrena and Sabin Etxaide Ibarguren, alleged ETA members, are killed.
- December 24: Robert Caplanne is fatally injured in Biarritz. He would die in January 6. He had no relation with ETA whatsoever.
1986:
- February 8: Attack against the Batxoki tavern. Karmele Martínez, Federick Haramboure and a young girl Nagore Otegui are injured.
- February 17: Assassination of Christophe Matxikote and Catherine Brion. They had no relation with ETA. Not reivindicated.
1987:
- July 24: Assassination of Juan Carlos García Goena, again totally unrelated with ETA. The attack was not claimed GAL. The arrested mercenaries, who performed it, accused the GAL of ordering it.

[edit] Convicted GAL members

The actual attacks were carried by members of the Spanish Policía Nacional or, most frequently, by Portuguese or French thugs.

The convicted members of the GAL's cupola are:

José Barrionuevo Peña, Homeland minister in PSOE's cabinets from 1982-88.
Rafael Vera, director for the Security of the State.
Ricardo García Damborenea, secretary general of PSE-PSOE in Biscay.
Francisco Álvarez, Antiterrorist Fight Czar.
Miguel Planchuelo, chief for the Police Information Brigade of Bilbao.
José Amedo Fouce, police chief.
Julián Sancristóbal, gobernador civil (delegate of the Spanish government) in Biscay.
General (then Colonel) Emilio Rodríguez Galindo, chief of the Guardia Civil headquarters at Intxaurrondo

[edit] Similar groups

Anti-Terrorismo ETA (ATE)
Batallón Vasco Español

Members of Batasuna gave the name "Green GAL" to a group of the Guardia Civil (who wear green uniforms) based in the Intxaurrondo barracks at San Sebastián, because they would, as Batasuna allege, attack ETA members illegally.