The Atocha massacre happened on 24 January 1977, on Atocha Street 55, in central Madrid. The perpetrators all had links to neo-fascist organizations in Spain opposed to the democratic transition. They launched a premeditated attack on a legal support office run by the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the workers’ federation Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO). The target was Joaquín Navarro, the general secretary of Comisiones Obreras, but he was not there at the time. Five individuals were killed: labour lawyers Enrique Valdelvira Ibáñez, Luis Javier Benavides Orgaz and Francisco Javier Sauquillo; law student Serafín Holgado de Antonio; and administrative assistant Ángel Rodríguez Leal.
The attackers arrived between 10:30 pm and 10:45 pm and asked for Navarro, then entered and shot everyone in the office. The first to be killed was Rodríguez Leal. Two victims, Luis Javier Benavides and Enrique Valdevira, were killed instantly, and two more, Serafín Holgado and Francisco Javier Sauquillo, died shortly after being taken to hospital. Four others were gravely injured but survived: Miguel Sarabia Gil, Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta Carbonell, Luis Ramos Pardo and Dolores González Ruiz.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
Discuss this with the author and others
No comments yet. Be the first to start the conversation.