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The Catalan People's Army (Exèrcit Popular Català, EPOCA), known by its members as La Casa,[1] was a Catalan nationalist paramilitary group which existed during the 1970s.[2]
| Catalan People's Army | |
|---|---|
| Exèrcit Popular Català | |
| Leader | Jaume Martínez Vendrell |
| Foundation | 1969 |
| Dissolved | 1979 |
| Motives | The creation of an independent state of Catalonia |
| Ideology | Catalan nationalism |
History
editThe group was founded in 1969, as a breakaway group of the National Front of Catalonia.[3] Jaume Martínez Vendrell, the leader of the military wing of the National Front, became its commander.[4][5] EPOCA trained its militants in urban warfare techniques, smuggling in weaponry from Switzerland.[6]
The group came to prominence through a number of assassinations, committed by attaching pressure-triggered bombs to the bodies of their victims, demanding ransoms, and when they weren't received, leaving the bombs to explode, killing their victims in the process.[7][8] In this way, the group assassinated in 1977 the industrialist and chemical tycoon José María Bultó, and in 1978 the ex-mayor of Barcelona, Joaquín Viola, along with his wife.[9][10][11]
By 1979, the group had become inactive in comparison with many other contemporary groups. Following discussions with paramilitaries from Terra Lliure, the groups decided to merge.[11][12][1] This led to many of the better-trained EPOCA militants joining Terra Lliure.[12]
Trials and justice
editSeven people were arrested in connection with the killings of Bultó and the Violas.[13] Two of them were tried in 1980; one was acquitted entirely, whilst Martínez Vendrell, the other, was sentenced to a year and three months in prison, although this was not directly related to the assassinations.[14] However, he had already served this time awaiting trial, so was immediately released.[15] The remaining five were tried in 1982, saying at the time that they "learned of the assassination through the newspapers and television".[16]
A number of additional arrests were made towards the end of 1980 in connection with the construction of the bombs that were used in the killings.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Jiménez Ramos, María; Domínguez Iribarren, Florencio; Marrodán Ciordia, Javier (2019). Heridos y olvidados : los supervivientes del terrorismo en España [Injured and forgotten: the survivors of terrorism in Spain] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros. ISBN 978-84-9164-520-7. OCLC 1090543709.
- ^ Campuzano Carvajal, Francisco; Guereña, Jean-Louis; Orobon, Mark-Angele; et al. (2002). Les nationalismes en Espagne : de l'État libéral à l'État des autonomies, 1876-1978 [Nationalisms in Spain: from the liberal state to the state of autonomies, 1876-1978] (in French). Montpelier: Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée. doi:10.4000/books.pulm.761. ISBN 2-84269-472-4. OCLC 469301145. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Dinero para un ejército independentista catalán". El País (Basque Country ed.). 6 August 2016. ProQuest 1809118993.
- ^ Cornellà-Detrell, Jordi (2018). "La circulació de llibres clandestins durant el franquisme" [The circulation of clandestine books during the era of Franco]. Querol (in Catalan). No. 22. pp. 44–50. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
ho va fer un comando de l'Exèrcit Popular Català dirigit per Jaume Martínez Vendrell.
- ^ Oriols, Pol Vila (2014). "Àngel Serra, alcalde republicà de Puig-reig". L'Erol (119): 17. ISSN 2385-3492 – via Dialnet.
- ^ "El resurgir de Terra Lliure" [The resurgence of Terra Lliure]. Observatorio de Seguridad y Defensa (in European Spanish). 16 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ Cuesta, Carlos (8 October 2013). "Maravillosos moderados" [Marvellous moderates]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. ProQuest 1439935055.
- ^ Segura Julian, Martí (30 June 2017). Terrorism: understanding Terra Lliure using the Structural-Cognitive Model (Master's degree thesis). Leiden University. hdl:1887/83829.
- ^ Sánchez Soler, Mariano, 1954- (2010). La transición sangrienta : una historia violenta del proceso democrático en España, 1975-1983 (1a ed.). Barcelona: Península. ISBN 978-84-9942-001-1. OCLC 609530404.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ucelay da Cal, Enric (2018). Breve historia del separatismo catalán [A brief history of Catalan separatism] (in Spanish) (First ed.). Barcelona: Penguin Random House. p. 213. ISBN 978-84-666-6511-7. OCLC 1078344963.
- ^ a b Segura, Cristian (2015-12-25). "Terra Lliure: Los antiguos violentos irrumpen en el 'procés'" [Terra Lliure: The old violent actors burst into the 'process']. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ a b Lleida, Miquel Albamur (2013). La voz callada de Cataluña. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-1291538113. OCLC 923828024.
- ^ "La policía revela extrañas implicaciones en los casos Viola y Bultó" [The police reveal strange implications in the Viola and Bultó cases]. El País (in Spanish). 1979-03-15. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ Gor, Francisco (1982-01-20). "Caso Bultó: dos sentencias con fallos dispares". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ "Puestos en libertad los dos procesados por el caso Bultó" [Freed: the two arrested in the Bultó case]. El País (in Spanish). 1980-06-18. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ Gor, Francisco (1982-01-12). "Los procesados en el "caso Bultó" declara que se enteraron del asesinato por los diarios y la televisión" [The suspects in the "Bultó case" declare that they learned of the assassination through the papers and TV]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ Quinta, Alfons (1980-10-16). "Detenidos los presuntos constructores de las bombas que ocasionaron las muertes de Bultó y del matrimonio Viola" [The suspected constructors of the bombs which caused the deaths of Bultó and the Violas are detained]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.