Civil Guard (Spain)

Civil Guard
Guardia Civil

Badge of the Guardia Civil
Active May 13, 1844
Country  Spain
Allegiance King of Spain
Type Gendarmerie
Role

Law enforcement

  • Highways, roads, and-or traffic.
  • National border patrol, security, and integrity.
  • Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Size 92,692 officers
Part of Government of Spain (Spanish Constitution of 1978)
Garrison/HQ Calle de Guzmán el Bueno, 110, 28003 Madrid, Spain
Patron Our Lady of the Pillar
Motto(s) El honor es mi divisa
(Honour is my badge)
Anniversaries October 12
Barracks 2,691
Decorations Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand
Website guardiacivil.es
Commanders
Minister of the Interior Juan Ignacio Zoido
Director-General José Manuel Holgado Merino[1]
Deputy Director of Operations Lt. Gen. Cándido Cardiel Ojer
Notable
commanders		 Colonel Francisco Javier Girón, for being the founder
Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero., for attempted coup d'état
Insignia
Abbreviation GC
Monogram
Ship racing stripe
A Nissan Patrol GR of the Guardia Civil.
Horse Guards of the Guardia Civil during the ceremonies of the Dos de Mayo 2008 in Madrid

The Guardia Civil (English: "Civil Guard"; [ˈɡwarðja θiˈβil]) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain. It is organised as a military force charged with police duties under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. The corps is colloquially known as the benemérita (reputable). In annual surveys, it generally ranks as the national institution most valued by Spaniards, closely followed by other law enforcement agencies and the military.[2] It has both a regular national role and undertakes specific foreign peace-keeping missions. As a national police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri, the Portuguese National Republican Guard and the Dutch Royal Marechaussee as it is part of the European Gendarmerie.

As part of its daily duties, the Guardia Civil patrols rural areas (including highways and ports) and investigates crimes there, whilst the Policía Nacional deals with safety in urban situations. Most cities also have a Policia Municipal. The three forces are nationally coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior. The Guardia Civil is usually stationed at casas cuartel, which are both minor residential garrisons and fully equipped police stations.

History

Civil Guard during the Catalan Tragic Week in 1909.

The Guardia Civil was founded as a national police force in 1844 in the reign of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the Navarrese aristocrat Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta, 2nd Duque de Ahumada and 5th Marqués de las Amarillas, an 11th generation descendant of Mexica emperor Moctezuma II. Formerly, law enforcement had been the responsibility of the "Holy Brotherhood", an organization of municipal leagues. Corruption was pervasive in the Brotherhood, where officials were constantly subject to local political influence, and the system was largely ineffective outside the major towns and cities.[3] Criminals could often escape justice by simply moving from one district to another.[3] The first Guardia police academy was established in the town of Valdemoro, south of Madrid, in 1855. Graduates were given the Guardia's now famous tricorne or Cavaliers hat as part of their duty dress uniform.

The Guardia was initially charged with putting an end to brigandage on the nation's highways, particularly in the province of Andalucia, which had become notorious for numerous robberies and holdups of businessmen, peddlers, travelers, and even foreign tourists.[4][5][6] Banditry in this region was so endemic that the Guardia found it difficult to completely eradicate. As late as 1884, one traveler of the day reported that it still existed in and around the city of Málaga:[7]

The favorite and original method of the Malagueño highwayman is to creep up quietly behind his victim, muffle his head and arms in a cloak, and then relieve him of his valuables. Should he resist, he is instantly disembowelled with the dexterous thrust of a knife...[The Spanish highwayman] wears a profusion of amulets and charms...all of undoubted efficacy against the dagger of an adversary or the rifle of a Civil Guard.[7]

The Guardia Civil was also given the political task of restoring and maintain land ownership and servitude among the peasantry of Spain by the king, who desired to stop the spread of anti-monarchist movements inspired by the French revolution. The end of the First Carlist War had left the Spanish landscape scarred by the destruction of civil war, and the government was forced to take drastic action to suppress spontaneous revolts by a restive peasantry. Based on the model of light infantry used by Napoleon in his European campaigns, the Guardia Civil was transformed into a paramilitary force of high mobility that could be deployed irrespective of inhospitable conditions, able to patrol and pacify large areas of the countryside. Its members, called 'guardias', maintain to this day a basic patrol unit formed by two agents, usually called a "pareja" (a pair), in which one of the 'guardias' will initiate the intervention while the second 'guardia' serves as a backup to the first.

The Civil War

Republican Civil Guard emblem (1931–1939)

During the Spanish Civil War, the Guardia Civil forces split almost evenly between those who remained loyal to the Republic, 53% of the members[8] (which changed their name to Guardia Nacional Republicana - "National Republic Guard")[9] and the rebel forces.[10] However, the highest authority of the corps, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remained loyal to the republican government.[11]

The proportion of Guardia Civil members that supported the rebel faction at the time of the 1936 coup was relatively high compared to other Spanish police corps such as the Guardias de Asalto and the Carabineros (Real Cuerpo de Carabineros de Costas y Fronteras), where when the Civil War began over 70% of their members stayed loyal to the Spanish Republic.[12]

Loyalist General of the Guardia Civil José Aranguren, commander of the 4th Organic Division and Military Governor of Valencia, was arrested by the victorious Francoist troops when they entered the city of Valencia at the end of March 1939. After being court-martialed General José Aranguren was given the death penalty and was summarily executed on 22 April in the same year.[12]

The Francoist era and the Transition

Following the Civil War, under the authoritarian government of General Francisco Franco (1939–1975), the Guardia Civil was reinforced with the members of the Carabineros, the "Royal Corps of Coast and Frontier Carabiniers", following the disbandment of the carabinier corps.[13]

The sidearm of the Guardia Civil from the 1970s to the early 1990s was the Star Model BM chambered in 9mm until its replacement the Beretta 92 and in recent years the Beretta has been replaced with the H&K USP.[14]

The involvement of Guardia Civil figures in politics continued well to the end of the twentieth century: on 23 February 1981, Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero Molina, a member of the Guardia Civil, participated with other military forces in the failed 23-F coup d'etat. Along with 200 members of the Guardia Civil, he briefly took hold of the lower house of the Cortes before the coup collapsed following a nationally televised address by King Juan Carlos, who denounced the coup.

Colonial service

Locally recruited units of the Guardia Civil were employed in Spain's overseas territories. These included three tercia (regiments) in the Philippines and two companies in Puerto Rico prior to 1898.[15]Over six thousand Civil Guards, both indigenous and Spanish, were serving in Cuba in 1885 and smaller units were subsequently raised in Ifni and Spanish Guinea.[16]

Modern force

Today, the Guardia Civil is a police force subject to the checks and supervision expected in a democratic society. Moreover, the guardias' proven effectiveness throughout history, whether in controlling banditry or in addressing the subsequent challenges and tasks given them, meant that additional tasks have been added regularly to their job description.

It is the largest police force in Spain, in terms of area served. Today, they are primarily responsible for policing and/or safety regarding the following (but not limited to) areas and/or safety related issues (given in no special order):

Mounted Guardia Civil
Guardia Civil's CASA CN235 surveillance aircraft

Peacekeepers

The Guardia Civil has been involved in operations as peacekeepers in United Nations sponsored operations, including operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, Congo, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Haiti, East Timor and El Salvador. They also served with the Spanish armed forces contingent in the war in Iraq, mainly as military police but also in intelligence gathering, where seven of its members were killed . In addition to el instituto armado ("the armed institution"), the Guardia Civil is known as la benemérita ("the well-remembered"). They served in the Spanish colonies, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Spanish Guinea and Spanish Morocco.

The Guardia Civil has a sister force in Costa Rica also called the Guardia Civil. The Costa Rican 'guardias' often train at the same academy as regular Spanish officers.

Characteristics

Members of the Guardia typically patrol in pairs.

Members of the Guardia Civil often live in garrisons (casa-cuartel) with their families.

Since the Guardia Civil must accommodate the families of its "guardias", it was the first police force in Europe that accommodated a same-sex partner in a military installation.

The symbol of the Guardia Civil consists of the Royal Crown of Spain, a sword and a fasces. The different units have variations of this symbol.

Uniforms

The traditional headdress of the Guardia is the tricornio hat, originally a tricorne. Its use now is reserved for parades or ceremonies. For other occasions a cap, a beret or the characteristic "gorra teresiana" is worn.[17] A wide range of clothing is worn according to the nature of the duties being performed. The historic blue, white and red uniform of the Guardia is now retained only for the Civil Guard Company of the Royal Guard and the gastadores (parade markers) of the Civil Guard Academy.[18]

A modernised new style of working uniform was announced for the Civil Guard in 2011, for general adoption during 2012. This comprises a green baseball cap, polo shirt and cargo pants. The historic three-cornered hat is to be retained for ceremonial parades and duty outside public buildings, together with the army-style tunic and trousers previously worn. The kepi-like "gorra teresiana" is, however, to be abolished.

Uniforms of the Civil Guard
Patrol
Patrol

Road waistcoat
Traffic Group

Motorcyclist ATGC
Sailor

Coverralls
Sailor

Summer
USECIC
GAR
GRS

Winter

GREIM

Rescue
GEAS

Diver
Camouflage

Military Police
Informal attire

Winter
Informal attire

Summer
Semi formal
Formal dress
Historical

Solemn acts

Ranks and insignia

NATO CodeOF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1
Spain
Teniente General General de División General de Brigada Coronel Teniente Coronel Comandante Capitán Teniente Alférez
Translation Lieutenant General Divisional General Brigade General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Captain Lieutenant lit. Knight
(Ensign)
NATO CodeOR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1
Spain
Suboficial Mayor Subteniente Brigada Sargento Primero Sargento Cabo Mayor Cabo Primero Cabo Guardia Civil de Primera Guardia Civil
Translation Senior Warrant Officer Warrant Officer Warrant Officer First Sergeant Sergeant Corporal Major Corporal First Class Corporal Civil Guardsman First Class
(Rank in abeyance)		 Civil Guardsman

Specialities

A mountain rescue group (GREIM) from the Civil Guard in an avalanche rescue training exercise.
1939–1977 Civil Guard emblem

The Corps has been organised into different specialties divided into operational and support specialties:[19]

Requirements

Criticisms

Spying

Peugeot 307 of the Civil Guard.
BMW R1200RT of the Highway Patrol of the Civil Guard.

On 23 July 2007, Roberto Flórez García, a retired GC officer assigned to the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia was charged with spying for a foreign power (allegedly Russia).[20]

Political involvement

Throughout the nineteenth century the Spanish army regularly became involved in politics; the Guardia Civil was no exception. For this reason, the guardias were seen historically as a reactionary force. On 3 January 1874, General Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque stormed congress and ended the Spanish First Republic with a company of thirty guardias civiles.

The first three decades of the 20th Century in Spain was a time of great political turmoil. During this period the Guardia Civil served frequently in the restoration of order remaining mostly loyal to established regimes. Thus, it supported the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1930), but it also supported the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939).

Unpopularity

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Guardia Civil conducted a campaign against criminal and anarchist elements of the Andalusian population, a campaign in which numbers of otherwise innocent members of the public found themselves accused them of being members of the secret society The Black Hand. For this reason the 'guardias' of that era were portrayed negatively in the literature and popular history, particularly by Spanish expatriate artists and writers. Under the pre-1931 monarchy, relations between gypsies and the Civil Guard were particularly tense.[21]

Critics of the Guardia Civil, particularly Republican sympathizers have alleged numerous instances of police brutality because of the organization's association with Franco's regime. The fact that the Guardia largely operated in mostly rural and isolated parts of the country increased the risk of police violations of individual civil rights through lack of supervision and accountability. García Lorca's poems have contributed to the Guardia Civil's reputation as, at least at the time, a heavy-handed police force.

Equipment

Aircraft

Helicopters

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Dirección General de la Guardia Civil" [General Direction of the Spanish Civil Guard] (in Spanish). Spanish Civil Guard. 2012-03-17.
  2. ↑ LaRazón.es (7-05-2015). "La Guardia Civil, la institución más valorada". La Razón. Retrieved 24 February 2016. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. 1 2 de Rementeria y Fica, Mariano, Manual of the Baratero (transl. and annot. by James Loriega), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, ISBN 978-1-58160-471-9 (2005)
  4. ↑ Quevedo, A. and Sidro, J., La Guardia Civil: La Historia de esta Institución, Madrid (1858)
  5. ↑ de la Iglesia, Eugenio, Reseña Histórica de la Guardia Civil, Madrid (1898)
  6. ↑ Driessen, Henk Driessen, The ‘Noble Bandit’ and the Bandits of the Nobles: Brigandage and Local Community in Nineteenth-century Andalusia, European Journal of Sociology 24, (1983), pp. 96-114
  7. 1 2 Scott, Samuel P., Through Spain: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the Peninsula, Philadelphia, PA: J. P. Lippincott Company (1886), pp. 130-131
  8. ↑ Muñoz-Bolaños, Roberto (2000), "Fuerzas y cuerpos de seguridad en España (1900–1945)", Serga, 2
  9. ↑ Decreto de 30 de agosto de 1936, 1936-08-30
  10. ↑ The International Bridgades Archived May 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. - Colodny, Robert G. Accessed 2008-05-12.
  11. ↑ Hugh Thomas (1976); Historia de la Guerra Civil Española, Ed. Grijalbo, p. 254
  12. 1 2 Ramón Salas Larrazábal (2001); Historia del Ejército Popular de la República, Volumen I. De los comienzos de la guerra al fracaso del ataque sobre Madrid, pp. 58-60
  13. ↑ "Ley 15 de Marzo de 1940", Boletín Oficial del Estado, 1940-03-15
  14. ↑ http://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/review-spain-star-modelo-b-pistol/
  15. ↑ Field, Ron. Spanish-American War 1898. pp. 98–99. ISBN 1-85753-272-4.
  16. ↑ Bueno, Jose. La Guardia Civil. pp. 76 and 98. ISBN 9-788486-629342.
  17. ↑ "Orden General número 1", Boletín Oficial de la Guardia Civil, 3, 1998-12-29 Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  18. ↑ José María Bueno, pages 164 and 168 "La Guardia Civil, su historia, organización y sus uniformes, I.S.B.N. 84-86629-34-9
  19. ↑ "Orden General 16", Boletín Oficial de la Guardia Civil, 30, 1999-10-21
  20. ↑ "La fiscalía acusa de un delito de traición al ex espía doble destapado por el CNI", El País, 2007-07-24
  21. ↑ Arturo Barea, page 193 "The Forging of a Rebel", Viking Press Inc. 1972, SBN 670-32367-5

References

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