Melitón Manzanas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melitón Manzanas (San Sebastián, 1906-1968) was a high-ranking police officer in Francoist Spain and the first high-profile member of the police force killed by ETA.
Manzanas entered the police force in San Sebastián in 1941, collaborating with the Gestapo against political opponents. Political detainees of that time describe him as a torturer. Manzanas eventually became commander of the Socio-Political Brigade, the francoist political police division, in San Sebastián. He was a vehement opponent of Basque separatism, which had been revived in the 1960s, and especially the militant organisation ETA.[citation needed] In 1968, he was killed by ETA[1] in retaliation for the torture of arrested ETA members and other Basques. His killers waited for him at his residence, Villa Arana, and shot him seven times. The operation was codenamed "Sagarra" (apples) in the Basque language, which is what Manzanas means in Spanish.
Thirty years after his death, Manzanas was awarded a (posthumous) medal of Civil Merit by José Aznar. Manzanas' service under Franco regime made this an extremely controversial act as Manzanas was guilty of numerous crimes against human rights.
