Assassination Of Luis Carrero Blanco

On 20 December 1973, Luis Carrero Blanco, the Prime Minister of Spain, was assassinated when a cache of explosives in a tunnel set up by the Basque separatist group ETA was detonated. The assassination, also known by its code name Operación Ogro (Operation Ogre), is considered to have been the biggest attack against the Francoist State since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and had far-reaching consequences within the politics of Spain.

The death of Carrero Blanco had numerous political implications. By the end of 1973, the physical health of dictator Francisco Franco had declined significantly, and it epitomized the final crisis of the Francoist regime. Following Carrero Blanco's death, the most conservative sector of the Francoist State, known as the , wanted to influence Franco so that he would choose an ultraconservative as Prime Minister. Finally, he chose Carlos Arias Navarro, who originally announced a partial relaxation of the most rigid aspects of the Francoist State, but quickly retreated under pressure from the . ETA, on the other hand, consolidated its place as a relevant armed group and would evolve to become one of the main opponents of Francoism.

Assassination

An ETA commando unit using the code name ''Txikia'' (after the ''nom de guerre'' of ETA activist Eustakio Mendizabal, killed by the Guardia Civil in April 1973) rented a basement flat at Calle Claudio Coello 104, Madrid, on the route by which Blanco regularly went to mass at San Francisco de Borja church.

Over five months, the unit dug a tunnel under the street – telling the landlord that they were student sculptors to hide their true purpose. The tunnel was packed with of Goma-2 that had been stolen from a government depot.

On 20 December at 9:36 am, a three-man ETA commando unit disguised as electricians detonated the explosives by command wire as Blanco's Dodge Dart passed. The blast sent Blanco and his car into the air and over the five-story church, landing on the second-floor terrace of the opposite side. Blanco survived the blast but died at 10:15 am in hospital. His bodyguard and driver died shortly afterwards. The "electricians" shouted to stunned passers-by that there had been a gas explosion, and then fled in the confusion. ETA claimed responsibility on 22 January 1974.

In a collective interview justifying the attack, the ETA bombers said:

The killing was not condemned and was, in some cases, even welcomed by the Spanish opposition in exile. According to Laura Desfor Edles, professor of sociology at California State University, Northridge, some analysts consider the assassination of Carrero Blanco to be the only thing the ETA have ever done to "further the cause of Spanish democracy". However, former ETA member turned writer Jon Juaristi contended that ETA's goal with the killing was not democratization but a spiral of violence to fully destabilize Spain, heighten Franco's repression against Basque nationalism and force the average Basque citizen to support the lesser evil in the form of the ETA against Franco.''Sacra Némesis: Nuevas historias de nacionalistas vascos'', pages 143–145, Jon Juaristi, Editorial Espasa Calpe, 1999,

According to colonel Amadeo Martínez Inglés, it was planned, organized and carried out by CIA, for its similarities with the assassination of René Schneider, with the collaboration of ETA. Others debate this, such as British historian Charles Powell. A regular daily briefing given by the CIA to the President of the United States the day after the attack was also declassified, in which they admitted to not knowing the cause of death and linked it to a possible gas leak.

Reaction

A government meeting about the "dangers of subversion threatening Spain" was scheduled to take place on 20 December 1973. Both Carrero Blanco and the United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, had expressed concern about a left-wing uprising during the meeting they held on 19 December. When government officials reached the Palace of Villamejor, they learned about Carrero Blanco's death. Deputy Prime Minister Torcuato Fernández Miranda demanded calm and announced that he was going to call Franco so that Franco could decide what to do next. After the call, Fernández Miranda proclaimed himself prime minister, in accordance with the dispositions laid out in the Organic Law of the State. His first decision as prime minister was to decline to declare a state of exception.

Gabriel Pita da Veiga, Minister of the Navy, informed Fernández Miranda that Carlos Iniesta Cano, Director-General of the Civil Guard, had decided to "maximize surveillance" and ordered agents through a telegram not to hesitate to use deadly force if any clash occurred. However, Fernández Miranda was opposed and made Iniesta Cano reverse this order immediately through a telegram.

See also

* Cassandra case, student prosecuted for posting a series of tweets poking fun at the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco
* '' Operación Ogro'', a film about the attack by Gillo Pontecorvo
* '' The Last Circus'', a film where the attack is a minor part of the plot

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrero Blanco, Luis
Terrorist incidents in Spain in the 1970s
1970s in Madrid
1973 murders in Spain
Assassinations in Spain
Deaths by person in Spain
Francoist Spain
Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1973
ETA (separatist group) actions
Tunnel warfare
Improvised explosive device bombings in Madrid
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1973
1973 in politics