José Miguel Beñaran Ordeñana (1949 – 21 December 1978) was a Basque activist and a key figure in the political evolution of the Basque separatist organization Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA). Often known by his nom de guerre Argala (Slim), he took part in the so called Operation Ogre, which consisted in the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco, Franco's Prime Minister, in 1973. Five years later, he was in turn assassinated by a car bomb in Anglet, France by a group directed by far right members inside the Spanish Navy (including an official of the SECED secret service and another of the Naval military intelligence agency, Servicio de Inteligencia Naval and the other belonging to the Alto Estado Mayor). This group reportedly received assistance from people such as former OAS member Jean Pierre Cherid, former Triple A Argentine member José María Boccardo and Italian neofascist Mario Ricci, member of Avanguardia Nazionale.[1]
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He was born in Arrigorriaga, in Biscay, close to the industrialized Bilbao, but not far from Arratia, a Valley with a typical Basque style of life. His mother, Felicidad Ordeñana Uriarte, was from Arantzazu. She was a Basque speaker, but only spoke Spanish at home. His father Pablo Beñaran Ormazabal was from Arrigorriaga, Basque nationalist, he could not speak Basque, even though his father was a Basque speaker. They had four children: Jose Migel (1949), Maite (1951), Iñaki (1952) and Pablol (1955).
He lived in two very different atmospheres: The Franquist school and the Basque nationalist home. Worker's strikes and police repression in the mid-1960s led to his class system-related concerns. He began studying Marxist theories at a young age.
Basque nationalism grew strong in the 1960s. Ikastolas, festivals, Basque popular lessons... Jose Migel Beñaran joined this movement enthusiastically. In 1968, he joined ETA, together with some other friends. He begun studying engineering, but he quit before finishing it and began working in a bank.. He then began studying human sciences.
In one moment he had been very dubious about leaving the organization, as both parents were ill, his work, his studies, in 1970 his father died. But in May 1970, at the age of 21, the police got his name and needed to escape.
He went to Oñati and a family gave him shelter there. He took the nickname Iñaki and lived there and in some other parts during some years.
In 1969 almost the complete ETA's direction was arrested in Bilbao and Cantabria, and different arguments began inside the organization. In the meeting held in Itsasu three different movements were divided inside the organization: ETA V, ETA VI and Celulas Rojas.
Those times Argala was in the Cultural Front. He did not assist the Itsasu Assembly and at first he kept on in his cultural front, in ETA VI's pattern.
In December 1970, happened the Process of Burgos. On 2 December, ETA V kidnapped the Behil consul in Donostia. ETA VI organized Operación Botella, an operation to help scape some prisoners. Argala joined the operation and they dug a hole right to the prison. When they were under the building, they did not succeed, since they had to scape when they saw that they could not break a wall.
Argala joined ETA V. in January 1971. They were a group that made their ideology very clear. Argala helped militants like Txomin Iturbe and Eustakio Mendizabal build a theory based in Marxist theories.[2]. He spent some time in Paris, as organizer and then he went back to Biscay as leader of the Cultural Front. His lived his life between the towns of Eibar and Elgoibar.
But being involved in the Cultural Front did not mean that he was not taking part in the Militar Front. On 30 September 1971 he participated in the assault of Banco de Vizcaya together with Eustakio Mendizabal and some other members. They got 10 million pesetas.
In 1971, ETA began creating sanctuaries in Madrid, where they could contact some other left-wing groups, looking for a more anonymous and more secure rearguard, and if there was any option, to try to help create a local armed organization in Madrid. Argala made many trips to the Francoist state's capital. They refused the idea of creating a local armed group in a short period of time, and they began to consider making some actions in Madrid. It was here that Argala made his first contacts with Alfonso Sastre and Eva Forest.
On 19 January 1972, an ETA group formed by Txomin Iturbe, Mikel Lujua, Tomas Perez Revilla and Argala, kidnapped the businessman Lorenzo Zabala Suinaga in Abadiño, Biscay. The workers of Precicontrol were on strike, and some of them in hunger strike in the church of Eibar, including some friends of Argala. ETA wanted to promote workers' conditions and they pointed to the workers' demands. They declared that if the direction of the enterprise did not fulfill this requirements, they would kill Zabala on 28 January. Finally, workers' requirements were fulfilled and they freed Zabala on 22 January.
In October 1972, ETA V organized an assembly trying to make clear which was each faction's position and to try to unite them again in an organization. The meeting was going to be in Hasparren, in the Northern Basque Country. Argala and some other members of the Cultural Front, decided not to cross the Spanish-French border, arguing security reasons. In fact, the Guardia Civil seized the group Argala was supposed to join and opened fire. They killed Jonan Aranguren Iharra and the rest of the group managed to scape. Not to assist the meeting was considered a discipline mistake and they decided to leave Argala and Wilson without any responsibility in the organization. The assembly pointed that they were forbidden to live in Southern Basque Country (the Spanish side of the Basque Country)and to make any politically-related work.
Argala and Wilson had to live in Madrid. They already had information about Luis Carrero Blanco and they were discussing on kidnapping him to exchange his freedom with all prisoners' freedom. They planned it, more people went to Madrid and for May 1973 everything was ready. Nevertheless, they had some problems and the kidnapping was delayed. Later on the ETA member Txikia was killed in Algorta and then, the direction of the organization decided to delay the kidnap. From that moment on, the group working in Madrid was called the Txikia Command. Argala was also given permission to meet his family.
Carrero Blanco was named president of the Spanish government and took more security measures. When the commando saw they would have difficulties to kidnap Carrero Blanco they tried to kidnap the minister of commerce Alberto Ullastres, but he was out when a commando formed by some ETA members went to his house on 7 November.
When they had difficulties reaching and kidnapping Carrero Blanco, they began planning an execution insetead. The Commando Txikia also was considering other options: Killing Manuel Fraga, killing Alfredo Semprum, making a hole in a wall in the prison of Segovia to help scape anti-Franco prisoners. On 25 September, they assaulted an arm-store and they scattered propaganda of an invented revolutionary group.
Argala was the only etarra who could identify the mysterious man who handed up to ETA Carrero Blanco's schedule and itinerary. According to Leonidas, former member of the Spanish Army who participated to the bombing against Argala, "the explosives came from a North-American base. I don't remember with exactitude if it was from Torrejón or Rota, but I do know that the Americans did not know what for they would be used. It was a personal favor they made to Pedro el Marino" (alias Pedro Martínez) who provided the explosives. Argala's assassination was reinvidicated by the Batallón Vasco Español (BVE). However, according to Leonidas, "BVE, ATE or "Triple A" are only sigles", conveniently used according to each situation[1].