Importance of the attack against Luis Carrero Blanco

Alsina González
Specialist journalist and researcher

A phrase that stands out from the last times of the life of the dictator Francisco Franco is that he affirmed that he had left everything "bound and well bound”By naming King Juan Carlos I as his successor, whom he had educated in the beginning fascists and nationalists motion that he had created.

And, nevertheless, Juan Carlos would be, historically, the second option of the dictator, a "straw man" who previously opted for a candidate today less known, whose name resonates because of the way he was assassinated, and who was called to be the new strong man of the regime succeeding Franco: Luis Carrero White.

A career naval soldier and son and grandson of soldiers, Carrero Blanco took part in the Rif War and held various positions until the Civil War, going on in said conflict to occupy the position of chief of staff of the division of cruisers for the navy of the revolted.

Elevated to the position of admiral, after the war, Carrero Blanco gained the confidence of Franco, who named him successively Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Government (1941-1967), Vice President of the Government (1967-1973), and President of the Government (1973).

He was in charge of planning Franco's succession, supporting the reinstatement of the monarchy in the person of the future Juan Carlos I and with a regime of an authoritarian nature that continued the work of the "caudillo", in which he himself was targeted to be the next strong man after the death of Frank.

Furiously anti-communist and in favor of applying repression against everything that disagreed with the Francoist idea of ​​Spain, he became a priority target for the terrorist group ETA.

This action, known with the explicit name of operation ogre, was the most widespread of ETA, assuming a qualitative leap for the Basque independence organization, since Carrero Blanco was the highest official of the regime that he assassinated.

The attack could be carried out thanks to the fact that those who studied the terrain and followed Carrero Blanco detected a book error in his security.

And this was none other than the repetition of routes, specifically to attend mass (Carrero Blanco was a devout Catholic believer). Government security served it on a platter to the ETA command, which quickly located a place for rent (some low; This is not a trivial detail, as we will see right now) in one of the streets through which the admiral used his daily route.

The type of attack is clear from the first moments: causing an explosion as the vehicle passes by.

With this objective in mind, the members of the command begin to dig a tunnel with which to reach the middle of the street, under the excuse of doing the own works for a sculptor's workshop, which is the excuse with which the ETA members cover the reason for the noise in the premises before neighbors and possible curious.

The deficiencies in the personal security of Admiral Carrero Blanco did not end in a fixed route, since His car (a Dodge 3700 made in Spain) was not armored, and he was only accompanied by a security vehicle. shooting guard.

This was due to a wrong perception of security for the high positions of the regime (yes, the car in which Franco was circulating was indeed armored car), which led the government security services to conclude that there was no risk what to fear

Initially scheduled for December 18, 1973, the attack finally took place two days later, on the 20th, since the visit of the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Madrid, made the ETA command fear an increase in security measures in the Spanish capital.

That day, Carrero Blanco remained faithful to his road map, and after leaving mass, the entourage of two vehicles (one where he was going and the other his escort), headed down Claudio Coello street.

At 9:27 in the morning, and as the Dodge in which Carrero Blanco was traveling, the members of eta caused the detonation of three charges of 50 kg of explosive for mining. The explosion was such that the vehicle, totally destroyed, suffered an upward impulse that made it overcome a five-story building to end up "landing" on its roof.

This image quickly became iconic, being disseminated by media of all the world. The building was part of the religious complex in which the church was located where Carrero Blanco had attended mass moments before, being a residence of the Jesuit order.

On the street, a huge crater was left open, and it goes without saying that the collateral damage (cars smashed, window panes broken by the blast wave) was very large.

Carrero Blanco died at the same moment, and his two companions (two policemen) passed through in the following hours due to the seriousness of his injuries.

Initially, the policemen who made up his escort (the three agents who were traveling in the second car and who were slightly injured) They thought it had been an accident and that the President of the Government had escaped unharmed, not finding the vehicle among the remains.

It had to be the Jesuits themselves who told them about the vehicle that had flown up to the roof of their building.

The reactions to the attack were diametrically opposed between the followers and the detractors of the regime.

Franco, in a very depleted physical state, suffered a severe emotional blow, since he had lost someone with whom he empathized and in whom he could trust, being a person of nature distrustful The most like-minded Franco supporters feel that they have lost someone very important to their future.

On the other hand, Basque society expresses jubilation, although it has to celebrate it in a covert way, just like the Spanish democratic forces. In those times, ETA was not as frowned upon by certain anti-Franco sectors as it would end up being after 1978.

It is explained that, even, in popular festivals in the Basque Country, songs were sung in which they referred to the attack, and during some passages from which people jumped as an allegory to the trajectory suffered by Carrero White.