Insurgency Overview
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), or “Basque Homeland and Liberty” was a Basque nationalist and separatist organization founded in 1959 with the primary goal of establishing an independent Basque state through armed revolutionary struggle.
The Basque country consists of 7 provinces in north-eastern Spain and south-western France. The Basque people share a common language, ethnicity, and socio-cultural history. Basque nationalism emerged in the 19th century with the rise of liberal centralism and modern industrialization. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) was founded to protect and give power to the ethnic Basque and their way of life. General Francisco Franco’s brutal repression of the Basque during the Spanish Civil War and the decades of repression that followed only strengthened the Basque identity and nationalist sentiment. The ETA emerged out of frustration with the PNV’s passive resistance. Through confrontation, the ETA vowed to gain Basque independence by any means necessary, including violence.
The group was classified as a terrorist organization by France, Spain, the EU, the UK, the US, and Canada. This classification is due to ETA’s paramilitary tactics which include bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. Between 1968 and 2010, the ETA killed 829 people—including 340 civilians. (1) Following five decades of armed insurgency, a permanent ceasefire was declared in 2011. In 2017 the group disarmed and one year later announced their complete dissolution as an organization.
History & Origins
The Basque country, Euskal Herria, is a region of 7 provinces located across Northern Spain and Southern France. Most of the region resides in four Spanish provinces (Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya, and Alava). The Basques are the region's indigenous population. They are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically distinct from the Spanish and French. Historians believe they have occupied the territory for at least 7,000 years (potentially 40,000). They have remained fiercely independent despite millennia of threats from outside invaders. In the Middle Ages, they joined the French and Spanish Kingdoms. The Spanish Basque provinces were granted charters, or fueros, that granted each province a right to self-government. (1)(2)
The discovery of the Americas led to an increased demand for commerce, trade, and industry in the Basque country. At this time, a class of bourgeoisie (jauntxos) began to develop and reshape Basque society. During the French Revolution, liberal ideas of a centralized government in Spain gained popularity, especially amongst the bourgeoisie. Following a series of civil wars in the 19th century known as the Carlist campaigns, the Spanish government eliminated regional privileges and thus the Basque provinces lost their autonomy. (1)(3)
In the late 19th century, the Basque provinces became one of the most heavily industrialized areas in Iberia. Massive migrations of non-Basque migrants entered the region looking for work. The Basque working class found themselves working in sweatshop conditions and slum housing while competing with non-Basque for jobs. The Basque country was Spain’s economic powerhouse, but many felt their taxes weren’t being allocated fairly by Madrid. Many Basques felt their culture and way of life were under threat. In response, Sabino de Arana founded the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) for Basque independence in defence of Basque culture, language, and race. (4)
In the early 20th century, the PNV became a dominant political force in local elections and a vocal minority in the Spanish parliament. In 1923, Captain General Miguel Primo de Rivera became dictator of Spain and outlawed the PNV. The party was forced to go underground. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, a coalition of Basque nationalist and republican forces enacted the Government of Euskadi but were defeated by General Francisco Franco’s forces in 1937. The exiled Basque government, synonymous with the PNV, fled to Paris. For decades, Franco continued to rule Spain with an iron fist; he outlawed all Basque culture including Euskadi, the Basque language. The PNV believed the Allies, whom they collaborated with closely during World War 2, would rid Spain of Franco. Instead, the US made a deal with Franco in return for establishing military bases across Spain. In 1959, a group of Basque youths formed the ETA, which broke with the passivity of the PNV and called for a campaign of national liberation by any means necessary. (4)
ETA, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Homeland and Liberty), emerged out of a student group, Ekin, in the early 50s. (4) Their first major action occurred in 1961 when the group’s failed attempt to derail a train of Francoist supporters was met with immediate retaliation from Franco. More than a hundred eterras (ETA members) were arrested, tortured, and given lengthy prison sentences. Several key leaders fled into exile in France. (3) In 1962, the group held their first assembly and developed a structure of activist cells. The exiled leaders formed the Executive Committee which continued to give top-down orders to ETA cells in Spanish Basque from France. They also sent out a communique publicly declaring their intent to gain Basque independence by
“whatever means necessary.”
In 64’ and 65’, the ETA held their third and fourth assemblies, adopting an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist position combining Basque nationalism with Marxist ideas of class struggle and Franz Fanon’s ‘Third-Worldist’ perspective on decolonization. In 67’, they reached a consensus on pursuing a strategy of armed struggle known as the ‘action-repression-action spiral theory’. The strategy would attempt to antagonize Franco into unbearable escalations of relation and repression that the Basque population would become compelled to join them in their revolutionary struggle for independence. (1)(2)
In 1968, the ETA assassinated Meliton Manzanas, a police commissioner known for torturing Basque nationalists. In response, Franco declared a “State of Exception”, suspending constitutional rights and arresting, torturing, and imprisoning Basques perceived to be affiliated with ETA. The spiral theory did not account for the intensity and rapid development of Franco’s retaliation. (1)(2)
In 1970, in the Burgos Trials, several ETA members were condemned to death. Coverage of the trials received international attention and was condemned by figures like the Pope and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. In response, those condemned to die received long prison sentences instead. (5)
ETA’s most infamous action, dubbed ‘Operation Ogre’, occurred in 1972 when an ETA cell assassinated Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, Franco’s second in command and Spain’s newly inaugurated Prime Minister. Blanco was notorious for his brutal counterinsurgent campaigns and a crackdown on illegal labour unions. Following Franco’s death, Blanco was to continue to lead the regime. When ETA was informed of Blanco’s routine trips to and from mass, they seized on the opportunity to act. Originally, they planned to kidnap Blanco to leverage a deal to have ETA prisoners released, but they decided it would be easier to have him killed. On December 20th, an 80kg Goma-2 explosive planted in a tunnel beneath the road blew Blanco’s car several stories high, killing him instantly. His death is widely seen as the end of Francoism. (2)
On November 22, 1975, General Franco took his last breath. King Juan Carlos I declared an amnesty for all of Spain’s political prisoners and allowed a democratically elected parliament and Prime Minister. A new constitution was enacted in 1978 by popular vote. The constitution recognized autonomous communities and their ethnic nationalities. Basque culture and language were allowed to be practised openly once again. For Basque nationalists, the constitutional changes weren’t seen as ‘true independence’. Many Francoist officials guilty of crimes against humanity continued to retain their posts in judicial, military, and political administrations. During this time, the ETA increased their armed activity. Between 1978 and 1980, ETA claimed 227 lives, 213 casualties and 19 kidnappings. (2)
During the transition to democracy, the ETA split into factions. A faction known as ETApm (ETA politico-militar) wanted to broaden its strategy to include both political engagement and militant activities, but ETAm (ETA-militar) were committed to the armed struggle. ETApm began to regard violent actions as counter-productive and saw working within the new democratic system as more beneficial to the Basque cause. In 1977 they formed a political group known as Euskadiko Ezkerra (EE), or ‘Basque Left’, and won several seats in both the Spanish and Basque parliaments. The success of EE convinced ETAm to form their political group known as Herri Batasuna (HB), or ‘People’s Unity’. Both factions joined the Koordinadora Abertzale Sozialista (KAS), or ‘Socialist Patriotic Coordinator’, a unified coalition of political parties and labour unions representing the interest of the Basque working class. (2)
In 1982, ETApm disbanded completely. Following their dissolution, the ETAm was simply known as ETA. By the late 80s and 90s, the movement began to grow weak. In 83’, the French government began to cooperate with the Spanish government in denying ETA members refuge and deporting them back to Spain. The Spanish government were also found to have ties to Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups), or GAL. GAL were a paramilitary coalition that illegally tortured and killed anyone they believed was connected to the ETA in what is as a “dirty war”. (6) Political parties that supported Basque nationalism, such as HB, were outlawed. Most notably, public support began to decline following bombing campaigns across Spain that resulted in civilian casualties and the assassination of former ETA leader María Dolores González Yoyes. (2)
In 1988, many ETA members began to sign a cease-fire agreement with the Spanish government. Four years later, three of ETA’s leading figures were captured. By this time, the movement had dwindled into bouts of youth-led street violence. Many saw this as a clear sign of their weakness. In 1995, an ETA cell commuted a failed attempt to attack the Spanish royal family. That same year, they kidnapped and assassinated a Spanish political leader, Miguel Angel Blanco, beloved by both Spanish and Basque citizens. They were met with a further decline in public support. (2)
Post 9/11, the United States’ “War on Terror” made it harder for ETA to continue to operate. In 2004, ETA was blamed for the Madrid Train Bombings that killed 191 and injured 1,800. Although the bombing was later revealed to have been orchestrated by an Islamic extremist group, damage to the group’s public image had already been done. ETA reached out for cease-fire talks in 2006, but the treaty broke down following ETA’s bombing of a parking garage at Madrid’s airport that killed two Ecuadorian immigrants. In 2010, the group decided to announce a ‘permanent ceasefire’, and the following year they announced an end to their armed campaign. In 2017, they destroyed their arsenal of weapons and two years later announced their complete dissolution. (5)
Despite no formal peace process, the ETA and Spanish government have remained dedicated to peace, but tension runs deep. Recently, an ETA-affiliated political group known as EH Bildu ran forty-four ex-convicted ETA members for the Spanish general election. A conservative Christian party known as PP, or ‘People’s Party’, have responded with accusations that the “ETA is still alive” in the form of EH Bildu. Regardless of these accusations, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, determined there is no legal basis for Spain to ban EH Bildu. EH Bildu insists that the days of armed revolution are over. Former ETA member and general coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, stated that ETA’s use of violence in the quest for independence
“should never have happened.”
(7)
Objectives & Ideology
The ETA is strongly rooted within the Basque nationalist movement. They emerged out of frustration at the PNV’s passive resistance towards the Franco regime. The PNV saw cooperation with the Spanish government and coalition building as a pragmatic way to gain more autonomy for the Basque region. The younger and more radical ETA argued that only through direct action could independence be gained. (1)(3)
The early ideological struggle within the ETA was concerned with the following:
Ethnicity vs class as an organizing principle for revolution.
Nationalism vs socialism as a guiding ideology
Conducting struggle based solely on ethnic Basques vs integrating non-Basque immigrants into the conflict.
Use of ‘direct action’ or ‘activism’ vs nonviolent organizing among masses of industrial workers.
(3)
Periodically, the ETA held debates at collective assemblies and made decisions on organisation structure, political ideology, philosophy of the movement, operations, strategy, tactics, etc. At their first assembly (1962), the ETA asserted its identity as a “revolutionary Basque movement” for national liberation. The Executive Committee issued their declaration of purpose:
“ETA is a clandestine organization whose only objective is to obtain as rapidly as possible and using all the means possible—including violence—the independence of Euzkadi.”
They advocated for the creation of a federated Europe based on ethnonationalities, separation of church and state, and opposition to racism and dictatorial regimes, whether fascist or communist. They supported a Basque national front composed of all ethnic Basque political groups regardless of social class and emphasized the Basque ethnic and cultural struggle. (3)
By the third assembly (1964-1965), things began to radically change. Multiple factions who were focused solely on purely ethnic or class struggle left the group. The remaining members were more ideologically homogenous. They defined themselves as anti-capitalist and anti-imperialists committed to the armed struggle for Basque independence. Inspired by Franz Fanon’s writings on the struggles of the Third World against Western European and American colonialism, the group saw the Basque ethnic struggle and working-class struggle as two parts of a large struggle against Spanish colonization. Therefore, the ETA would wage an armed struggle against both the Spanish apparatus of domination (government, bureaucracy, economy, mass media, etc.) and the Basque bourgeoisie who refused to cooperate with the struggle. (3)
Between 1967 and 1968, the ETA split due to ideological and strategic differences between factions. The ETApm were closer to traditional Marxist-Leninism and chose to combine an armed mobile proletariat and joint political-military strategy like the Tupamaros in Uruguay. In contrast, the ETAm maintained the use of small clandestine cells and was influenced by the Palestinian militant group Black September. By the 80s, ETApm dissolved but remained active politically as the EE. The ETAm continued the armed struggle as the sole ETA. (3)
In 1978, ETA’s five conditions for a total cessation of hostilities were the following:
Amnesty for all Basque political prisoners.
Legalization of all political parties including those espousing separatism.
Expulsion of the Spanish Guardia Civil and other police agencies from the Basque country.
Adoption of measures to improve conditions of the working class.
Recognition of the national sovereignty of Euskadi and the right of the Basque people to self-determination.
(3)
The Spanish government refused to negotiate. In 2011, the ETA were unpopular, isolated, and weakened beyond repair. They decided the armed struggle was no longer a viable option and called for an end to hostilities in 2011. In 2018, the last remnant of ETA announced its dissolution. (3)
Today, many ex-ETA members continue to fight for the creation of a “Basque State”, but through democratic politics rather than armed actions. (ex. EH Bildu). (7)
Political & Military Capabilities
ETA militants, eterras, are estimated to have ranged somewhere between 300 to 2,000 active members at their peak. After five decades of operations, they have killed 829, kidnapped 77, and wounded more than 22,000. (4) Their operations consisted of armed robberies, raids on weapons factories and depots, bombings, and sabotage. Most operations were carried out in Spanish Basque but included cities in Spain, France, and Catalonia. (2)
The ETA was organized along a three-tired, top-down pyramid-like structure. The Executive Committee, based in France, consisted of about 10 individuals. Their function was to recruit, gather and analyze intel, procure weapons, maintain finances, and handle publicity. The middle branch was a loosely operational committee that oversaw ETA activities in each of the Spanish Basque provinces. At the base of the organization are the commandos, cells of 3-5 members operating near the town or neighbourhood they live. They work in secrecy and stay isolated from the rest of the organization to prevent members from giving up any information under interrogation or torture. (2)
There are several classes of etteras within the organization. Liberados, aka ilegales, or fichidos, have a police record, or ficha, on file. They work full-time for the ETA and earn a modest salary. Liberados carry out most of the armed actions such as bombings, bank robberies, and kidnappings. Legales are unknown to police and live conventional lives. Most ETA activists are young, single male legales from Vizcaya or Guipúzcoa. They are full-time students, workers, and agriculturalists who could be sporadically activated for an ekintza (action) at any moment. They serve as enlances (links) and act as couriers of information, or buzons (mailboxes) which serve as drop-off points for messages, weapons, or other items passing through ETA’s network. Information would be shared in secure locations such as local bars, movie theatres, restaurants, etc. Contraband was hidden in secret compartments with false bottoms to avoid detection. (2)
A recruiter scouts out new members at social clubs and hangouts and vets them for over a year. During the onboarding process, potential recruits play minor roles in operations and progressively take on more responsibility. Once admitted into the organization, they spend two weeks of basic training at a camp in southern France where they receive training on weapons, combat, explosives, communication devices and channels, intel gathering, etc. (2)
ETA’s weapons and ammo cache were supplied via the international illegal arms market or stolen from arms depots in Spain, France, and elsewhere. Weapons were often smuggled across the Pyrenees or Bay of Biscay concealed within food crates or in vehicles/boats with false bottoms. ETA cells were as well equipped as a conventional infantry attachment in the Spanish Army. The preferred pistols include the Belgian-manufactured Browning 9mm HP35 and the Basque-manufactured Star, Astra, and Firebird. The preferred submachine guns included the Belgian-manufactured 9mm Vigneron, Israeli/Belgian-manufactured 9mm Uzi, and the United Kingdom-manufactured 9mm Sten Mark II. Most ETA were given pistols rather than submachine guns. Pistols were the least likely to result in accidental deaths or wasted ammunition. Specially trained commandos received automatic/semi-automatic rifles such as the American M-16 and Belgian FAL. Rocket launchers were rarely used because they tended to be old and unreliable. The go-to explosive was Goma-2. It is manufactured across Spain and Portugal and used for construction and quarrying. There were plenty of major deposits in Basque country from which to steal. (2)
ETA was financed by donations, army robberies, kidnapping, ransoms, and so-called “revolutionary taxes” aka (extortion) they learned from the Irish Republican Army. Basque industrialists and bourgeoisie essentially “made an offer they couldn’t refuse” under threats of violence. For perspective, in 1978 ETA robbed 50 banks for over 4 million dollars. That same year over 800 wealthy Basques were paying revolutionary taxes. Kidnapping victims were kept behind false walls or windowless rooms known as “people’s prisons” until a ransom was paid or a political concession was granted. These same hiding spots could be used to hide eterras from capture. (2)
The ETA’s main targets were members of the Spanish security state. Civilian casualties were mostly politicians and police informants although 9% were estimated to be innocent bystanders. Bombs and crossfire were responsible for most of their accidental victims. Operations tended to avoid direct assault. Eterras used hit-and-run tactics catching their victims off guard when they were most vulnerable. Most victims were assassinated while driving, sitting at a bar/restaurant, taking a walk, etc. (2)
Approach To Resistance
The ETA’s primary approach to resistance was through armed insurgence. In 1967, there was a group consensus on applying the ‘Action-Repression-Action-Spiral Theory’ against Franco’s regime. In theory, cycles of escalating armed actions and retaliation would have led to such atrocious forms of repression that a civil war would break out and the general Basque population would join the ETA in its armed struggle for independence. In practice, the Franco regime cracked down swiftly and arrested, tortured, and imprisoned lETA leaders and hundreds of etteras. A ‘State of Exception’ (martial law) was implemented suspending constitutional rights for Spanish Basque and eventually the rest of Spain. There would be no civil war. Despite living under the conditions of a constant police state, ETA continued armed operations against Franco’s regime until his death. Their assassination of Admiral Blanco arguably put the nail in the coffin of Franco’s regime and facilitated the emergence of a Spanish democracy. (2)
During Spain’s transition to democracy, ETA’s ideological split would precede both factions joining a workers’ coalition (KAS) and forming their political parties (EE and HB). Both parties responded “no” to the Constitutional referendum. Regardless, the referendum was passed. During these turbulent years, ETApm and ETAm increased armed insurgency for “true” liberation. Later, ETApm ultimately decided to forgo the militant path. Their reasoning behind that decision was twofold. First, they believed through politics they could gain more autonomy and worker’s rights for the Basque people. Secondly, they believed armed insurgence might trigger a right-wing coup and a loss of their recently gained autonomy. ETAm continued its armed insurgency but ultimately dissolved due to Spanish counterinsurgency, French cooperation with the Spanish government, and a loss of public support. (2)
ETA was able to create a “spiral of silence” using street violence, intimidation, extortion, and a network of organizations within the Basque National Liberation Movement. The goal was to make their presence felt everywhere. Intimidation and extortion were leveraged to entice others to support the cause. There was a
“fear of physical and (sometimes irreversible) damage or destruction of property, but also social marginalization or emptiness, including stigmatization as Spanish.”
ETA encouraged supporters to occupy public spaces and show their support. It held symbolic power and attracted media attention which held the perception of legitimacy to ETA’s cause. (8)
Relations & Alliances
It has been alleged that the ETA had links to an international terrorist network. In 1981, Spanish magazine Policia Espanola published an alleged foreign contact that claimed ETA was receiving weapons, explosives, and/or tactical training in South Yemen, Lebanon, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Uruguay, Cuba, and Algeria. Spanish intelligence claims a small group of eterras were trained in kidnapping and sabotage in Cuba in 1964. They are also alleged to have had ties to the IRA, Red Brigades, and the Baader-Meinhof Gang. Exiles were given refuge in France (until 1983), Belgium and Algeria. (4)
Political parties associated with ETA were Herri Batasuna and Euzkadiko Ezkerra. EH Bildu, a Basque separatist party, is made up of many ex-ETA members, forty-four of which recently ran in Spain’s general elections. (4)(7)
ETA had a strong presence in the Basque Liberation Movement. Organizations within the public sphere apart of this movement including workers’ unions (LAB), youth groups (Jarrai), feminist groups (Egizan), ecologist groups (Eguzki), student groups (Ikasle Abertzaleak), internationalist groups (Askapena), media and cultural groups (Egin & Egin Irratia), human rights groups (Herriko Tabernas) and other groups which serve as political and social apparatuses to create a counter society who ran against the prevailing narrative of the state. (8)
Works Cited
(1) - Watson, Cameron, Basque Nationalism and Political Violence: The Ideological and Intellectual origins of ETA, Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 2007.
(2) - Anderson, Wayne, The ETA: Spain’s Basque Terrorists, Rosen Publication, New York, 2003.
(3) - Clark, Robert P., The Basque Insurgents: ETA, 1952-1980, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1984.
(4) - Douglas William A., and Joseba Zulaika, “On the Interpretation of Terrorist Violence: ETA and the Basque Political Process”, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Volume 32, No. 2, pp. 238-257, Cambridge University Press, Published: April, 1990. Accessed: 6/23/2014
(5) - Who Were the ETA (Euskadia Ta Askatasuna)?, History With Hilbert, Educational Video, Published May 21, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iRB7SJ3S-4&t=28s
(6) - Encarnación, Omar G., “Democracy and Dirty Wars in Spain”, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 950-972, The John Hopkins University Press, Published November 2007
(7) - Llach, Laura, Spanish Elections Re-Open Deep Wounds, as ETA Terrorists Run for Political Office, Euro News, Published: 5/19/2023
(8) - García, César, “The Strategic Communication Power of Terrorism: The Case of ETA, Perspectives on Terrorism, Vol. 12, No. 5 pp. 27-35, Terrorism Research Initiative, October 2018.