On 20 December 1973, an explosion on a Madrid street was more than it appeared at first. The attack targeted Luis Carrero Blanco, a key figure in the Francoist regime. Known as Operación Ogro or Ogro Operazioa (Operation Ogre), the attack was carried out by the Basque separatist group ETA. The death of Carrero Blanco had numerous political implications. By the end of 1973, the physical health of dictator Francisco Franco had declined significantly.
Following Carrero Blanco’s death, the most conservative sector of the Francoist State, known as the búnker, 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 búnker. An ETA commando unit used the code name Txikia and rented a basement flat, telling the landlord they were student sculptors to hide their true purpose. The unit dug a tunnel under the street over five months.
The tunnel was packed with 80 kg (180 lb) of Goma-2 that had been stolen from a government depot. On December 20 at 9:36 am, a three-man ETA commando unit disguised as electricians detonated the explosives by command wire as Carrero Blanco’s Dodge Dart passed. The blast sent Blanco and his car 20 metres (66 ft) into the air and over the five-story church, landing on the second-floor terrace of the opposite side. Carrero Blanco survived the blast but died at 10:15 am in hospital.
His bodyguard and driver died shortly afterwards. ETA consolidated its place as a relevant armed group and would evolve to become one of the main opponents of Francoism.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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