Resistência Galega ( en, Galician Resistance), sometimes referred to as REGA, is the term used by a series of

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and Galician separatist organisations and individuals to claim attacks in Galicia. The term was first used in 2005 when a manifesto named ''Manifesto da Resistência Galega'' appeared on the Internet. Since then, Resistência Galega has carried out dozens of attacks against political party offices and banks across Galicia.

Overview

Resistência Galega is the continuation of several Galician separatist groups active in the 1970s and 80s such as the Loita Armada Revolucionaria, "Liga Armada Galega" or "Exército Guerrilheiro do Povo Galego Ceive". The organisation was reportedly created by the Assembleia da Mocidade Independentista ( en, Assembly of Independentist Youth) in 2005 and it became known to the public with a manifesto published on the internet on 20 November that same year. In it, several attacks against political party offices, the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

, and incidents which occurred during the

Prestige oil spill The ''Prestige'' oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain in November 2002, caused by the sinking of the 26-year-old, structurally deficient oil tanker , carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on 13 ...

crisis were claimed. According to

Spanish police Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, the group has three active cells with each one consisting of four members. Two of them based in the cities of Santiago and Vigo, and another one moving around Galicia. The group also has around 200 sympathizers and supporters. Its leader is suspected to be Antonio García Matos, former member of the extinct organisation "Exército Guerrilheiro". Also known as "Toninho", he was arrested in November 2005 and was soon released, being on the run since then. He is believed to be hiding in Portugal, from where he orders the organisation's attacks. There were also reported contacts with

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, ...

. Some activists have reportedly been trained in the mountains in rural Galicia. In October 2010, it was announced that the

Spanish High Court The Audiencia Nacional (; en, National Court) is a centralised court in Spain with jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory. It is specialised in a certain scope of delinquency, having original jurisdiction over major crimes such as those ...

would designate Resistência Galega as a terrorist group, comparing the group with other armed organisations in Spain, such as ETA. Following a petrol bomb attack in January 2011, authorities labelled the incident as a "terrorist attack" and announced that the High Court would take part in the investigation, as a "case of terrorism".

Attacks

2005

*July 23: On the eve of the National Day of Galicia, Resistência Galega commits its first attack by planting a bomb in a bank office in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

2007

*March 27: Police officers safely defuse a bomb placed in a construction site in Nigrán,

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

. *May 9: Police officers safely detonate a bomb placed in a construction site in

Cangas do Morrazo Cangas, also known as Cangas do Morrazo, is a seaside resort in southwestern Galicia, Spain. It is both a town and municipality in the province of Pontevedra. Its area is about 38,1 km² and has a population of around 26,087 inhabitants. ...

, Pontevedra. *May 15: A bomb explodes in an industrial park in O Ceao,

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

. No one was injured in the attack, which heavily damaged the building. *September 25: A bomb explodes in

Mugardos Mugardos is a small fishing borough and municipality in the comarca of Ferrol, located in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is bordered with the municipalities of Ares and Fene. Climate Du ...

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

. No one was injured in the attack, which destroyed two houses. *November 15: A powerful bomb destroys an estate agency in Cangas do Morrazo, Pontevedra. No one was injured.

2008

*February 8: A bomb explodes in a construction company building in Perbes,

. No one was injured.

2009

*June 16: A bomb explodes in a bank in Vigo. No one was injured. Another bomb went off at a businessman's house in Bease and an arson fire was set in a car dealership in Priegue,

. *July 9: An explosive device destroys a bank office in

, Pontevedra. No one was injured. *July 23: A bomb placed in front of a bank office in Vigo is safely exploded by police.

2010

*January 1: Two explosive devices placed under two local police patrol cars go off in Santiago. No one was injured. *January 28: An explosive device goes off in the house of

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Blanco Valdés in Santiago de Compostela. No one was injured. *April 19: A petrol bomb is thrown at the People's Party office in Nigrán, Pontevedra. No one was injured. *July 20: A bomb goes off in an employer's organization office in Vigo. The bomb caused great damage to the building, but no one was injured. *July 26: A homemade bomb explodes in front of the house of

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Míguez Poza in Santiago de Compostela. No one was injured. * September 16: A bomb explodes in a Socialist Party office in

A Estrada A Estrada is a municipality of the Pontevedra province in Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is located some southeast of Santiago de Compostela. Etymology The name comes from the Latin word ''strata'', with the meaning of ''trodden earth, where ...

. No one was injured in the attack, which damaged the office building. * September 27: A small bomb explodes in front of an employers' organization in

, causing damage to the building. No one was injured. * September 28: An explosive device goes off in a Socialist Party office in Salceda de Caselas, Pontevedra. No one was injured. Hours later, another Socialist office was attacked in Salvaterra do Miño. *December 25: A bomb explodes in a Socialist Party office in

Teo, A Coruña Ramallosa - Casa do concello de Teo

Teo is a munic ...

. No one was injured.

2011

*January 4: Four petrol bombs are thrown at a Socialist Party office in

Betanzos Betanzos () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain in the province of A Coruña. It belongs to the comarca of Betanzos. In Roman times Betanzos was called Flauvium Brigantium or ''Brigantium''. During the ...

, A Coruña. No one was injured. *January 18: Two petrol bombs are thrown at a Socialist Party office in Carral, A Coruña. No one was injured. *January 27: As part of a general strike in Galicia, a molotov cocktail is thrown at a bank in Vigo. Three individuals were arrested and later released. *February 1: An explosive device, planted in solidarity with

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

prisoners, goes off at a courthouse in Betanzos, A Coruña. *February 9: A petrol bomb is thrown at the

Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse ...

(UGT) trade union office in A Coruña. *February 10: An explosive device fails to explode in front of a bank office in Vigo. No one was injured. *March 9: A bomb explodes at the former house of the Santiago de Compostela mayor. No one was injured. *June 13: A bomb explodes in front of a PP office in

Ordes Ordes is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality of northwestern Spain in the A Coruña (province), province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It belongs to the comarca of Ordes. The population in 2008 was 12,5 ...

, destroying the office and damaging cars and buildings. No one was injured.

References

External links

Resistência Galega manifest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resistencia Galega Galician nationalist terrorism Secessionist organizations in Europe National liberation movements Left-wing militant groups in Portugal Left-wing militant groups in Spain Resistance movements Military units and formations established in 2005 Military units and formations disestablished in 2019 Military wings of nationalist parties CategorY:Military wings of socialist parties Organisations designated as terrorist by the European Union Defunct organizations designated as terrorist in Europe