The ''Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey'' (English: Warriors of Christ the King) was a Spanish

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

paramilitary organisation that operated in the late 1970s, primarily in the Basque Country and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, but also in

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. They emerged at a time of factionism within the

Carlist movement Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – o ...

. Historically Carlism was a traditionalist,

legitimist The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They re ...

and Catholic movement, supporting a different monarchial line to the one occupying the

Spanish throne , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. But when the succession fell to Carlos Hugo, he began to support a left-wing, social democrat ideology under the banner of the

Carlist Party The Carlist Party ( es, Partido Carlista, ca, Partit Carlí, eu, Karlista Alderdia, gl, Partido Carlista, ast, Partíu Carlista; PC) is a Spanish political party that considers itself as a successor to the historical tradition of Carlism. ...

. This caused large scale conflict within the movement; many proclaimed his more traditionalist minded brother, Sixtus Henry, as Carlist regent. Probably the most notable incident involving the group was the

Montejurra massacre The Montejurra incidents, was a neo-fascist terrorist attack that took place on May 9, 1976, when two Carlist members were killed and another three seriously wounded by right-wing gunmen at the annual Carlist Party celebration that was held in ...

of 1976, which happened during the annual Carlist pilgrimage to the

Montejurra Montejurra in Spanish and Jurramendi in Basque are the names of a mountain in Navarre region (Spain). Each year, it hosts a Carlist celebration in remembrance of the 1873 Battle of Montejurra during the Third Carlist War. In 2004, approximately 1 ...

mountain in

. During this attack, two supporters of the Carlos Hugo faction (Ricardo García Pellejero and Aniano Jiménez Santo) were killed. José Luis Marín García Verde and Hermenegildo García Llorente, alleged members of this armed group, were arrested later, but were later released without investigation as

Manuel Fraga Manuel Fraga Iribarne (; 23 November 1922 – 15 January 2012) was a Spanish professor and politician in Francoist Spain, who was also the founder of the People's Party. Fraga was Minister of Information and Tourism between 1962 and 1969, Ambas ...

(Member of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's political board) gave direct instructions not to prosecute these murders. The presence of known European Fascist criminals, active in organisations such as ''

Batallón Vasco Español The ''Batallón Vasco Español'' (BVE) (English: Spanish Basque Battalion) sometimes associated with the Alianza Anticomunista (AAA) (English: Anti-Communist Alliance), Antiterrorismo ETA (English: ETA Antiterrorism) or Triple A (English: Trip ...

'' or ''

Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista The ''Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista'' (English: Anti-Communist Apostolic Alliance) was a Spanish far-right paramilitary organisation active from 1976 to 1983, primarily in the southern Basque Country but also in the French Basque Country and ...

'' and Italy in this has left to some speculating a link to the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

-era

Operation Gladio Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European Int ...

Attacks

Attacks attributed to the Warriors of Christ the King: *December 1970: Members of the organisation beat various progressive priests in

Ondarroa Ondarroa is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain. Main sights *Church of St. Mary, ...

. *2 May 1973:

Mariano Sánchez Covisa Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana (disambiguation), Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius (name), Marius, and Marius d ...

(leader of the organisation) was arrested for attacking a mass organised by the ''Movimientos Apostólicos Obreros de Madrid''. *9 May 1976: During

members of the organisation were related to the violent actions that took place, along with other terrorist organisations. *26 September 1976: The group assassinated 21-year-old student Carlos González Martínez, who was attending a protest of tribute to the last persons executed by Francoist dictatorship in

. *23 January 1977: Members of the organisation assassinated 19-year-old Arturo Ruiz (member of the Young Red Guard, the youth wing of the

Party of Labour of Spain Communist Party of Spain (international) (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Partido Comunista de España (internacional)''), was a Communism, communist political party in Spain. History The PTE was formed around 1967, following a split from the ...

) in

. *24 August 1978: The group burned the headquarters of the Basque nationalist and anarchist magazine ''

Askatasuna Askatasuna (from the Basque word meaning "Freedom") is a Basque political party registered on 31 August 1998, outlawed in 2009 by the Audiencia Nacional under the 2002 Political Parties Law. History In 1998 several notable events occurred around ...

''.

Notes

References

{{Basque conflict, state=collapsed Far-right terrorism in Spain Paramilitary organisations based in Spain 1968 establishments in Spain Organizations established in 1968 1980 disestablishments in Spain Organizations disestablished in 1980 Anti-communist terrorism Christian terrorism in Europe 20th century in Spain Basque history Political history of Spain Spanish nationalism