Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación

Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads illegally set up by officials of 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 Interior Ministry. The Spanish daily El Mundo played a key role revealing the plot with its series on the matter.

History

GAL operated mainly in the Basque Country, mostly on the French side of the border, but kidnapping, torture and economic crimes were also carried out around Spain. The victims were both members and supporters of ETA, and often people unconnected to terrorism. The GAL 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's did not have a proper or consistent ideology other than attacking ETA members or ETA-related targets. In this regard, the actual perpetrators were never militants in a political sense but mercenaries, also a few policemen were convicted of involvement (Lasa-Zabala case, in which Guardias Civiles were charged and sentenced [http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webeurcountries/SPAIN?OpenDocument] , 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's activities.

Felipe González, then President of the Government of Spain and leader of the Socialist Party, was suspected of being involved with the GAL as a result of the long series of reports by investigative journalism which the Spanish daily El Mundo and other Spanish media devoted to the matter. It is claimed that, although González probably knew about the GAL, he was not brought to trial in order to avoid the consequent discrediting of Spanish political institutions.

The GAL was one of the main issues of the campaign for the elections of 1996 in which Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was defeated 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 has called publicly for pardons for his former subordinates. PSOE leaders have campaigned for leniency towards their former co-workers convicted of crimes associated with GAL and the succeeding government of José María Aznar granted some pardons to Socialists convicted of GAL crimes.

After 1987, when the GAL disbanded, the French government adopted a harsher attitude towards Basque refugees, denying political refugee status to new applicants, and facilitating extraditions requested by Spanish judges. This change 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 at war with the Basque people.

Chronology of attacks

* 1983:
**October 17: Kidnapping and assassination of alleged ETA members Joxe Lasa Arostegi and José Ignacio Zabala. Claimed. Their mutilated corpses were found in Alicante in 1995. Several Guardia Civiles were eventually sentenced for this case, though allegations of torture 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 for the kidnap attempt on Larraetxea. The policemen were released on December 8th and Marey on the 13th. S. Marey was not related to ETA in any way and he was apparently kidnapped by mistake.
**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 on 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 Jesús Zugarramurdi is injured.
**May 26: Kidnapping and torture 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 attack 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 was not known to have connections with ETA.
**November 20: Assassination of Santiago Brouard, leader of HASI in his own medical practice in Bilbao.
**December 11: Attack on José Iradier in Hendaye, injured.
*1985:
**February 1: Attack on Xabier Manterola, leader of Herri Taldeak, injured.
**February 5: Bomb attack against Christian Casteigts in Bayonne, injured. He was not known to have connections with ETA.
**March 29: Attack on "Les Pyreneés" tavern in Bayonne. Benoit Pecasteing, Jean Marc Mutio and Pedro José Pikabea were injured, Benoit fatally. 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 on the "Trinkete" tavern in Ciboure: Emile Weiss and Claude Doer are killed. They were not known to have connections with ETA.
**August 31: Assassination of Dominique Labeyrie in St. Jean de Luz. He was not known to have connections with ETA.
**September 2: Assassination of Juan Manuel Otegi, alleged ETA member, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
**September 25: Attack on 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 died on January 6. He was not known to have connections with ETA.
*1986:
**February 8: Attack on 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 connection with ETA. Not claimed by GAL.
*1987:
**July 24: Assassination of Juan Carlos García Goena, again totally unconnected with ETA. The attack was not claimed by GAL. The arrested mercenaries, who performed it, accused GAL of ordering it.

Convicted GAL members

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

The convicted members of GAL's leadership 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

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 Batasuna allege that they would attack ETA members illegally.

See also

*Henri Curiel, allegedly killed by Jean-Pierre Maïone-Libaude on behalf of the GAL
*Pierre Goldman, killed by Jean-Pierre Maïone-Libaude
*Stefano Delle Chiaie, Italian neofascist
*Jean Pierre Cherid, former OAS member, Batallón Vasco Español and GAL

External links

* [http://www.irishdemocrat.co.uk/news/2001/dirty-war/ The stain of Spain's dirty war (Irish Democrat)]

Books

* "Dirty War, Clean Hands -- ETA, the GAL and Spanish Democracy" by Paddy Woodworth - ISBN 0-300-09750-6