Triple A (Spain)

Triple A
Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista
Dates of operation	1976–1983
Motives	Opposing Basque independence and Catalan nationalism (including moderate nationalists). Anticommunism, anticatalanism and Catholic fundamentalism.
Active region(s)	Basque Country  Spain  France  Catalonia
Ideology	Fascism Spanish unionism Spanish nationalism Francoism National Catholicism
Political position	Far-right
Notable attacks	El Papus bombing Ametzola bombing
Status	Inactive

Triple A (acronym for Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista; Apostolic Anticommunist Alliance) was a Spanish far-right paramilitary, Spanish nationalist and parapolicial group active from 1977 to 1982, primarily in the Southern Basque Country, but also in the French Basque Country and Barcelona. A report by the Office for Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government in June 2010 attributed 8 murders in the Basque Autonomous Community to the group, and linked it to the Spanish police, SECED and Guardia Civil.^[1] The group also attacked the satirical magazine El Papus, in Barcelona, leaving 1 dead and 17 injured.^[2]

Triple A attacks

This list may be incomplete, because many of their attacks were never claimed. Additionally the acronyms GAE and others (Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey, Anti Terrorismo ETA or ATE, Primera Línea de Fuerza Nueva, Batallón Vasco Español or Grupos Armados Españoles and, later, GAL and GANE) seem to have been indistinctly used by the same Spanish nationalist networks capriciously.

• July 27, 1976: the group claimed the kidnapping of the ETA-pm leader Pertur. Later the Batallón Vasco Español would also claim the kidnapping and murder of Pertur.^[3]
• December 16, 1976: A group called Alianza Apostólica Española threatened the Catalan singer Lluis Llach, attacking one of his concerts with machine guns.^[4]
• January 25, 1977: the Triple A claims the Atocha massacre, which later turned out to be false, and the bombing of the Pub Santa Bárbara.
• February 7, 1977: bombing of the Sala Villaroel in Barcelona during the representation of an Alfonso Sastre play. The owner was wounded.^[5]
• February 17, 1977: the Francisco Franco Command of the Triple A sent various death threats to journalists and Basque activists.^[6]
• February 21, 1977: death threat sent to the Dean of Arts of the University of Salamanca, José Luis Martín.^[7]
• February 24, 1977: death threat sent to the President of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, accused of treasoning the Movimiento Nacional.^[8]
• May 27, 1977: bomb threat in a cinema in Aranjuez if an act of the People's Socialist Party that was going to be held there was not canceled.^[9]
• September 20, 1977: a bomb explodes in the satirical magazine El Papus in Barcelona. One dead, Juan Peñalver Sandoval, and 17 injured. The group also threatened to attack the newspapers Cambio 16, Mundo Diario and the magazine Por Favor.^[10]
• October 6, 1977: A bomb totally destroyed the headquarters of the magazine Punto y Hora de Euskal Herria in Pamplona.^[11]
• October 7, 1977: murder of taxi driver David Salvador Bernardo (AKA Jonio) in Andoain (Guipuzkoa). Salvador's murder was claimed by the Triple A, which accused the driver of being an ETA collaborator.
• November 5, 1977: the headquarters of Comisiones Obreras in Bilbao were assaulted and robbed by the Triple A.^[12]
• June 6, 1978: death threats sent to the manager of Diario 16, Miguel Ángel Aguilar.^[13]
• July 1, 1978: bomb against the Circulo Catalán de Madrid, that partially destroyed the building. 1 dead.^[14]
• July 2, 1978: murder in Donibane Lohizune (France) of Rosario Arregui Letamendi, wife of the former ETA military leader Juan José Etxabe. The couple was gunned down when they were driving, she died on the spot and Etxabe was seriously injured. The relatives of Etxabe had suffered numerous attacks, his brother being murdered three years earlier. The attack was claimed by the Triple A, in retaliation for the latest developments in Euskadi.^[15] Five unknown individuals fired their guns against the mourners of Rosario, during her funeral.^[16][17]
• September 13, 1978: gun attack against the PSOE offices in Avilés. The group also robbed a Francisco Franco statue.^[18]
• November 10, 1978: attack with a molotov cocktail against the Comisiones Obreras headquarters in Madrid.^[19]
• May 5, 1979: the Triple A announces a boikot campaign against the Basque Country.^[20]
• May 6, 1979: kidnapping and murder of José Ramón Ansa Echevarria, 17-year-old from Andoain (Guipuzkoa). He was kidnapped at dawn as he returned home on foot after being with their friends in the local festivities. He was found dead by a bullet in the forehead in a roadside ditch between Andoain and Urnieta. His murder was claimed by the Triple A who accused him of being a member of ETA, an accusation that was denied by his family.
• May 11, 1979: bomb against the HQ of the Socialist Party of Andalusia in Seville, that destroyed the building.^[21]
• June 12, 1979: bomb against the UCD HQ in Granada. The building was totally destroyed.^[22]
• April 23, 1980: attack against the Basque painter and Euskadiko Ezkerra member Javier Aguirre Unamuno, that was severelly injured.^[23]
• July 23, 1980: A bomb of 2 kg of Goma-2 exploded in Bilbao, in the neighborhood of Ametzola. In the explosion two Roma who were collecting cardboards there died on the spot; Maria Contreras Gabarra, 17 (who was pregnant), and her brother Antonio Contreras Gabarra, 12; and seriously wounded an employee of the municipal cleaning services, that died hours later, Anastasio Leal Terradillos (Cabezuela del Valle, 59 years old). After the attack there was speculation about whether the intended target was a nearby nursery owned by a councillor of Herri Batasuna or the local Batzoki.^[24]
• August 27, 1980: murder of Jesús Maria Etxebeste in Irun^[25]
• December 19, 1980: attack against a bar in Lekeitio.^[26]
• November 26, 1981: attack against El Diario de Barcelona.^[27] Death threats against Xavier Vinader.
• January 2, 1982: Murder of Pablo Garayalde in Leitza.^[25]
• June 14, 1982: 4 bombs in Madrid and attacks against 2 buses in Torremolinos.^[28]
• February 5, 1983: grenade attack against the US Embassy in Madrid.^[29]
• February 11, 1983: attacks and threats against left-wing students in the University of Barcelona.^[30]

Alleged links with the repressive apparatus of the Spanish State

The report of the Office of Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government (2010) said that the Triple A was a well organized right-wing group, that "acted with a high level of tolerance, when no complicity, with important sectors of the police apparatus of the time".

See also

• Alianza Anticomunista Argentina
• Batallón Vasco Español
• Grupos Armados Españoles
• Warriors of Christ the King
• Far-right terrorism in Spain

References

1. Luis R. Aizpeolea, "Las otras víctimas", El País, 21 de octubre de 2010.
2. JOSÉ A. CANO (12 January 2015). "De 'El Papus' a 'Charlie'". ELMUNDO. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
3. Ediciones El País. "El Batallón Vasco-Español afirma que ha ejecutado a "Pertur"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
4. Ediciones El País. "La puesta en práctica". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
5. Ediciones El País. "Atentado contra la "Sala Villarroel" de Barcelona". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
6. Ediciones El País. "Amenazas de muerte del Comando "Francisco Franco" y de la "Triple A"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
7. Ediciones El País. "Salamanca: el decano de Letras, amenazado por la Triple A". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
8. Ediciones El País. "La "Triple A" amenaza al presidente Suárez". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
9. Ediciones El País. "La "triple A" amenaza al dueño de un cine en Aranjuez". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
10. Ediciones El País. "La "Triple A" explica los motivos del atentado contra "El Papus"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
11. Ediciones El País. "Quince mil manifestantes en Pamplona por el atentado contra "Punto y Hora"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
12. Ediciones El País. "Asaltada la sede de Comisiones Obreras en Bilbao". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
13. Ediciones El País. "El director de "Diario 16", amenazado de muerte por la "Triple A"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
14. La "Triple A" reivindica el atentado contra el Circulo Catalán.
15. Ediciones El País. "Asesinada la mujer del ex dirigente de ETA Juan José Etxabe". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
16. Ediciones El País. "Tensión en Mondragón durante el funeral de Rosario Arregui". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
17. Ediciones El País. "Disparos contra los asistentes a un funeral". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
18. Ediciones El País. "La "Triple A" roba a punta de pistola un busto de Franco en Avilés". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
19. Ediciones El País. ""Cóctel molotov" contra la sede de CCOO en Madrid". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
20. Ediciones El País. "La Triple A anuncia una campaña de boicot al País Vasco". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
21. Ediciones El País. "La sede del PSA en Sevilla, parcialmente destruida por la explosión de una bomba". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
22. Ediciones El País. "Artefacto explosivo contra la sede de UCD de Granada". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
23. Ediciones El País. "El atentado a un vasco en París reivindicado por los "ultras"". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
24. La Vanguardia Digital. "Edición del jueves, 24 julio 1980, página 4 - Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es". lavanguardia.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015. line feed character in |title= at position 46 (help)
25. Ediciones El País. "Las otras víctimas". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
26. Ediciones El País. "La Triple A". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
27. Ediciones El País. "El atentado contra "Diario de Barcelona", reivindicado por la Triple A". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
28. Ediciones El País. "La policía sospecha de la extrema derecha como autora de las explosiones ocurridas ayer en Madrid". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
29. Ediciones El País. "El atentado contra la Embajada norteamericana en Madrid". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
30. Ediciones El País. "Paro en la Universidad de Barcelona por una agresión de 'ultras' a un estudiante". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 30 September 2015.