“Former Spanish prime minister Felipe González is under scrutiny following the publication of CIA documents which appear to link him to death squads that hunted down Basque separatists during his tenure.”
“Mr González, a Socialist who governed from 1982 until 1996, has long faced questions about the extent of his knowledge of the Anti-Terrorist Freedom Groups (GAL), which operated in the mid-1980s. The GAL are believed to have killed 27 people during their campaign against the Basque terrorist group Eta, almost all of them in France. Several of the victims were completely unconnected to Eta.”
“Last week, the right-wing La Razón newspaper published parts of a declassified CIA document which suggested that the politician knew of, or even encouraged, the creation of such groups.”
““The government, however, appears determined to adopt an unorthodox strategy in dealing with ETA,” reads the redacted report, titled Terrorism Review and dated January 1984.”
“It continues: “[…] González has agreed to the formation of a group of mercenaries, controlled by the Army, to combat the terrorists outside the law.””
“The document also states that “the mercenaries would not necessarily be Spaniards and that their mission would be to assassinate Eta leaders in Spain and France.” It goes on to name the GAL as such an organisation.”
“Although this is not the first time the document has been made public – it first surfaced in 2011 – its circulation now has triggered renewed calls for an investigation into the GAL and Mr González’s possible involvement in them.”
“After the GAL’s activities came to light, the judiciary investigated, generating a scandal which contributed to the eventual destabilisation of the González government. In 1998, his former interior minister, José Barrionuevo, and former secretary of state for security, Rafael Vera, were the most high-profile figures to be jailed for their involvement. After several months in prison they were granted early release.”
“However, there have long been questions regarding who was the mastermind behind the death squads, commonly referred to as “Mr X”.”
Read more: CIA files reopen questions about Spain’s state terrorism
Related: Ex-envoy comes to aid of Gonzalez squad claims `absurd’
2021-week32
