Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación

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Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads established illegally by officials of the Spanish government to fight ETA, a Basque separatist group. They were active from 1983 until 1987, under PSOE's cabinets. It was proven by a judicial trial that they were financed by important officials within the Spanish Interior Ministry. The Spanish daily El Mundo played an important role revealing the plot with its series on the matter.

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[edit] History

GAL operated mainly in the Basque Country, mostly on the French side of the border, but kidnapping and torture were also performed around Spain. The victims were both members and supporters of ETA, and often people unassociated with terrorism. The GAL were active from 1983 until 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 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 [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'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.

It was also proven during the trials that the policemen recruiting the mercenaries and the government officials involved in organising the dirty war also embezzled large amounts of money from the public funds assigned to the task. Also, payments were made by the PSOE government to the individuals first jailed, in order to buy their silence.

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, or have condemned their crimes verbally. González himself (presumed to be 'Mr. X') 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 colleagues 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.

[edit] Chronology of attacks

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  • 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 8 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:
  • 1985:
  • 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.

[edit] 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:

[edit] Similar groups

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.

[edit] See also

[edit] Books

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