1994 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT - SPAIN

UNCLAS MADRID 012650 SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR TAGS: PTER SUBJECT: 1994 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT - SPAIN REF: STATE 286744 ¶1. THE TERRORIST SITUATION IN SPAIN IS NOT MARKEDLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT DESCRIBED IN "PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM - 1993". EMBASSY PROPOSES THE FOLLOWING FOR INCLUSION IN THE 1994 TERRORISM REPORT, REQUESTED REFTEL: ¶2. DURING 1994 SPANISH AND FRENCH AUTHORITIES ENJOYED CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS AGAINST THE BASQUE FATHERLAND AND LIBERTY (ETA) TERRORIST GROUP. SEVERAL IMPORTANT ARRESTS WERE MADE, INCLUDING THAT OF THE SECOND IN COMMAND OF ETA'S MILITARY WING. SIGNIFICANT CACHES OF WEAPONS AND RECORDS IN FRANCE, INCLUDING A COMPUTER HARD-DISK OF BANK ACCOUNTS AND PHONE NUMBERS, WERE ALSO SEIZED. NEVERTHELESS, ETA REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT TERRORIST THREAT IN SPAIN. ON JULY 29 THE THIRD RANKING OFFICIAL IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, LIEUTENANT GENERAL FRANCISCO VEGUILLAS, WAS KILLED BY A CAR BOMB IN DOWNTOWN MADRID. DESPITE ITS PROGRESS IN NEUTRALIZING ETA, THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR RECOGNIZES THAT A SIGNIFICANT COUNTERTERRORIST EFFORT MUST BE SUSTAINED. THE LEFTIST GRAPO TERRORIST ORGANIZATION HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY INSIGNIFICANT. IN 1994 GRAPO'S OPERATIONS WERE LIMITED TO OCCASIONAL ROBBERIES AND SMALL SCALE BOMBINGS. GARDNER