The assassination of Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco, also known by its

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

Operación Ogro ( en, Operation Ogre), had far-reaching consequences within the politics of Spain. Admiral Carrero Blanco was killed in Madrid by the

Basque separatist Basque nationalism ( eu, eusko abertzaletasuna ; es, nacionalismo vasco; french: nationalisme basque) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the poli ...

group

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

on 20 December 1973. The assassination is considered to have been the biggest attack against the

Francoist State Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. The death of Carrero Blanco had numerous political implications. By the end of 1973, the physical health of dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

had declined significantly, and it epitomized the final crisis of the Francoist regime. Following Blanco's death, the most conservative sector of the Francoist State, known as the , wanted to influence Franco so that he would choose an ultraconservative as Prime Minister. Finally, he chose Carlos Arias Navarro, who originally announced a partial relaxation of the most rigid aspects of the Francoist State, but quickly retreated under pressure from the . ETA, on the other hand, consolidated its place as a relevant armed group and would evolve to become one of the main opponents of Francoism.

Attack

An ETA commando unit using the code name ''Txikia'' (after the ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' of ETA activist

Eustakio Mendizabal Eustakio Mendizabal (Itsasondo, 9 October 1944 – Algorta 19 April 1973), commonly known by his nom-de-guerre ''Txikia'', was the leader of the Basque separatist group ETA-V from August 1971 until his death in April 1973. Biography Early ye ...

, killed by the Guardia Civil in April 1973) rented a basement flat at Calle Claudio Coello 104, Madrid, on the route by which Blanco regularly went to mass at San Francisco de Borja church. Over five months, the unit dug a tunnel under the street – telling the landlord that they were student sculptors to hide their true purpose. The tunnel was packed with of

Goma-2 Goma-2 was a type of high explosive manufactured for industrial use (chiefly mining) by Unión Española de Explosivos S.A. It was a gelatinous, nitroglycol-based explosive widely used within Spain and exported abroad. It was used by ETA in the 1 ...

that had been stolen from a government depot. On 20 December at 9:36 AM, a three-man ETA commando unit disguised as electricians detonated the explosives by command wire as Blanco's Dodge Dart passed. The blast sent Blanco and his car into the air and over the five-story church, landing on the second-floor terrace of the opposite side. Blanco survived the blast but died at 10:15 AM in hospital. His bodyguard and driver died shortly afterwards. The "electricians" shouted to stunned passers-by that there had been a gas explosion, and then fled in the confusion. ETA claimed responsibility on 22 January 1974. In a collective interview justifying the attack, the ETA bombers said: The killing was not condemned and was, in some cases, even welcomed by the Spanish opposition in exile. According to Laura Desfor Edles, professor of sociology at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, some analysts consider the assassination of Carrero Blanco to be the only thing the ETA have ever done to "further the cause of Spanish democracy". However, former ETA member turned writer

Jon Juaristi Jon Juaristi Linacero (born in Bilbao in 1951) is a Spanish poet, essayist and translator in Spanish and Basque, as well as a self-confessed former ETA militant.

contended that ETA's goal with the killing was not democratization but a spiral of violence to fully destabilize Spain, heighten Franco's repression against Basque nationalism and force the average Basque citizen to support the

lesser evil The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is sometimes rec ...

in the form of the ETA against Franco.''Sacra Némesis: Nuevas historias de nacionalistas vascos'', pages 143–145,

Jon Juaristi Jon Juaristi Linacero (born in Bilbao in 1951) is a Spanish poet, essayist and translator in Spanish and Basque, as well as a self-confessed former ETA militant.

Editorial Espasa Calpe An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such ...

, 1999,

Reaction

A government meeting about the "dangers of subversion threatening Spain" was scheduled to take place on 20 December 1973. Both Carrero Blanco and the United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, had expressed concern about a left-wing uprising during the meeting they held on 19 December. When government officials reached the

Palace of Villamejor The Palace of Villamejor ( es, Palacio de Villamejor) is a palace located on the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, Spain. The state purchased it in 1914 from the Marquesses of Villamejor to serve as the residence of the Prime Minister, a role tha ...

, they learned about Carrero Blanco's death. Deputy Prime Minister Torcuato Fernández Miranda demanded calm and announced that he was going to call Franco so that Franco could decide what to do next. After the call, Fernández Miranda proclaimed himself prime minister, in accordance with the dispositions laid out in the

Organic Law of the State The Organic Law of the State ( es, Ley Orgánica del Estado) (Law 1/1967, of 11 January, for the Organic Law of the State)

. His first decision as prime minister was to decline to declare a state of exception. Gabriel Pita da Veiga, Minister of the Navy, informed Fernández Miranda that , Director-General of the Civil Guard, had decided to "maximize surveillance" and ordered agents through a telegram not to hesitate to use deadly force if any clash occurred. However, Fernández Miranda was opposed and made Iniesta Cano reverse this order immediately through a telegram.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrero Blanco, Luis 1973 in Spain 1970s in Madrid 1973 murders in Spain Assassinations in Spain Deaths by person in Spain Francoist Spain Terrorism in Spain ETA (separatist group) actions Films with screenplays by Ugo Pirro

Attack

Reaction

See also

References