Fuerzas Armadas Guanches

The Fuerzas Armadas Guanches (abbreviation: FAG) was the armed wing of the Movimiento por la Autodeterminación e Independencia del Archipiélago Canario (MPAIAC) (Movement for Self Determination and Independence of the Canary Archipelago). It was active between November 1, 1976 and late 1978, when the group unilaterally announced a ceasefire in what it considered to be activity against Spanish colonial occupation of the Canary Islands.

As the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco was collapsing, the FAG planted dynamite bombs (which they primarily got from road construction sites) and used them to fight for Canary independence.

Timeline

• November 1, 1976 : The group started arguing for armed conflict via radio propaganda; this is considered the date the Fuerzas Armadas Gaunches was born. The first of their bombs exploded that day at the Galeries Preciados of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
• March 7, 1977: A FAG bomb exploded in the flower-shop of the passenger terminal of Gran Canaria's airport, resulting in numerous injuries and some damage. Flights were diverted to the Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, with human error on the part of pilots resulting in what was, until 9/11, the deadliest airplane crash in history, with almost 600 people being killed.
• Marzo de 1977: Santiago Marrero Hernandez was beaten to death by guards of the Spanish Navy at the headquarters of the Isleta, from which he had come to steal weapons.
• May 13, 1977: FAG committed its first attack on the Iberian peninsula itself, with a bomb exploding at the Galeries Preciados Madrid.
• 1978: The first death directly caused by the MPAIAC occurred this year: police officer Rafael Valdenebro attempted to defuse a bomb in La Laguna, Tenerife, and died in the explosion.

See also

• Canarian nationalism
• Dates to Remember, or Fecha Para el Recuerdo
• NationMaster page on MPAIAC