Francisco Javier Lopez Pena

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Francisco Javier López Peña
Military Chief ETA
In office March 18, 1991 – May 20, 2008
Born	February 14, 1958 (1958-02-14) (age 50) Galdácano (Biscay), Euzkadi
Nationality	Basque
Political party	ETA

Francisco Javier López Peña (Basque: ) commonly known as Thierry, (14 February 1958 – ) was a member of Euzkadi ta Askatasuna and head of military operations. On the 20th of May, 2008, Lopez Pena was arrested in Bordeaux, France during a joint operation between French and Spanish security service officials.

Contents 1 ETA activity 2 Prisoner 2.1 Political impact 3 Reactions 3.1 France 3.2 Spain 4 References

[edit] ETA activity

Lopez Pena has been on the run from law enforcement since 1983. On March 18, 1991, following the arrest of Jesus Arcauz Arana ("Josu of Mondragon") in Biarritz, France, the leader of the military apparatus of ETA, Lopez Pena moved into the upper echelons of ETA's leadership. In 2006, during the time of negotiations with the Spanish government, Lopez Pena is said to have taken over the underground non-political leadership.

He was also supposed to have ordered the bombings of Barajas Airport on December 30, 2006. This move was purportedly responsible for ending the ceasefire ETA declared earlier in the year. Some sections of the media have blamed Lopez Pena for being the man responsible for hurting negotiating capacity with the Spanish government for his hawkish stance. ^[1][2]

Furthermore, the recent spate of attacks in early 2008 and the killing of a a Civil Guard member was suppose to have occurred at Lopen Pena's behest.

[edit] Prisoner

Lopez Pena's first tryst with the law occurred on February 14, 1983 when he was arrested in Bayonne, France. He was charged with criminal conspiracy and sent to prison.

On July 8, 2005 he was sentenced, in absentia, by the Correctional Tribunal of Paris (France) to 8 years' imprisonment for criminal conspiracy.

On February 5, 2007 Central Examining Court No. 5 of the National High Court ordered his search, arrest and incarceration in prison for collaboration with terrorist or armed bands. ^[3]

On his arrest on May 20, 2008 Lopez Pena was in a Bordeaux apartment with three other ETA members, including Ainhoa Ozaeta Mendiondo, Igor Suberbiola and Jon Salaberria . They are reported to have not having resisted arrest.^[4] When police raided the flat in Bouscat, which had been under surveillance for a week, they found two handguns, a homemade rocket-launcher and several detonators which were seized. ^[5] In all there were six arrests including Angel Arrauzpide-Cruz, considered by police to be the head of an ETA reservist cell,^[6] and a former mayor of a Basque city arrested earlier in the year, who is said to have led police to Lopez Pena.

On Monday May 26, 2008, Lopez Pena along with four others arrested in the same week were remanded to a court in Paris. The group are expected to be placed under judicial investigation for "criminal association with a terrorist organization."^[7]

[edit] Political impact

While it is still too early to tell what impact this arrest will have on ETA's operations and the Spanish government response, it is described as a major setback to the group.^[8] On May 27, the Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the state is stronger and ETA is crippled. Consequently, he announced plans to recruit more police for the security services in dealing with ETA. However, he also warned that while the state is "stronger than ever," the capacity for ETA to "harm us a lot" still existed. In speaking before the Interior Committee of Congress he hailed the arrest of Lopez Pena as a critical blow to the group. On May 30, ETA released statement exclaiming despite the arrest the fight for an independent Basque homeland will continue. The statement, sent to Basque newspaper Gara, read "If there is no adequate attention to the root of the problem, the conflict will persist." It went on to state, "They (French and Spanish government) will be forcing us to keep on fighting."^[9]

[edit] Reactions

Across the spectrum the news of Lopez Pena's arrest was roundly cheered.^[10]

[edit] France

A statement from the French Prime Minister's called Lopez Pena "one of the historic leaders" of ETA, and added that he had been wanted by police for 20 years.

The statement also said "The success of this operation illustrates again the remarkable quality of the anti-terrorist cooperation between France and Spain." ^[11]

[edit] Spain

In Spain, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hailed the arrests as "certainly another important step in the victory of democracy against terror." ^[12] He also added that the raid "has delivered a severe blow to the leadership of the terrorist group Eta." ^[13]

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez-Rubalcaba told a press conference at the Spanish Embassy in Dakar, Senegal and called the arrests "the hardest set back" ever for ETA. ^[14] He went on to say "This is not just another police operation in the sense that one of the detained, Francisco Javier Lopez Pena, is in all likelihood at this moment the person with most political and military weight in the terrorist group ETA." ^[15] Upon his immediate return to Madrid, precipitated by the first high-ranking ETA arrest in 6 years, Rubalcaba told a press conference that he believed these leaders "are behind or even ordered the latest killings." Rubalcaba called the arrests a big victory in Spain's decades-old battle against ETA, "We are closer to the end, but this is not the end." ^[16] He added "The four had a decisive participation in the attacks in Barajas and Castellon," and hence ""It is an operation of an enormous importance." Amongst the other detained was also Luis Ignacio Iruretagoyena. Of whom Rubalcaba said, "Iruretagoyena is considered by police to be the maximum expert in the making of bombs within ETA." ^[17]

[edit] References