Atocha massacre, 20 years later

By Antonio Canto Alvarez, 25 January 1997

Twenty years ago, at about 10:30 PM on 1977, January 24th, a ultra-right-wing terrorist command self-named “Comando Roberto Hugo Sosa”, related with the Anti-communist Apostolic Alliance, entered the labour lawyers office sited at 55 Atocha Street, Madrid, Spain, looking for the communist leader Joaqu n Navarro, who was leading a transportists strike against the bureaucracy of the “vertical” (fascist) syndicate. This office was “very known” in Socialist and Communist environments, you know.

But when they knocked the door, Navarro had left some minutes before. ngel Rodr guez Leal, a worker of the Telef nica (Telecomms company ) that had been recently banned, found that two young men pointed at his head with a pistol. The two men entered the flat cutting the telephone wires and looking in every office to join in the hall to everybody that could be in the apartment. The youngest shooted accidentally when he hit a table.

Who of you is Navarro? -they shouted.

Navarro is not here -they were answered.

Your hands, your hands—ordered the leader of the assaulters—, up, up…

Without a word, at 1 mt and pointing at the target, both terrorists began to shoot against the nine persons that had been in the office. Nine bodies layed in a mountain on a big pool of blood.

Among them, five corpses: the lawyers Francisco Javier Sauquillo, Luis Javier Benavides, Seraf n Holgado, Enrique Valdevira and the worker ngel Rodr guez Leal. With them, seriously wounded, were the lawyers Luis Ramos, Miguel ngel Sarabia, Alejandro Ru z-Huerta and the pregn ant lawyer Mar a Dolores Gonz lez. Then the assaulters lost in Madrid's night. Next day a voice vindicated the crime in the name of the spectral Anti-communist Apostolic Alliance, a definition with suspects of being very near to Franco Secret Services.

Following the results of the judgement done on february, 1980, the Atocha Massacre had been “hired” by the Madrid provincial secretary of the Transport (vertical) Syndicate, Francisco Albadalejo Corredera; and was executed by a “command” composed of Jos Fern ndez Cerr y Carl os Garc a Juli , who shooted while Fernando Lerdo de Tejada was at the door; they were helped by Leocadio Jim nez Caravaca and Gloria Herguedes.

The court only take under account the possibility of a revenge among rightist syndicalists and progressive tradeunionists, and all the political implications of the assault were “covered”, until March 24, 1984, when the Italian newspaper “Il Messaggero” discovered an amazing “black” thriller. Next day, “El Pa s” published the following news:

An Italian neo-fascist shooted the Atocha lawyers, according to a Justice collaborator—It was an Italian neo-fascist terrorist who shooted the bullets that killed the lawyers of Madrid's Atocha Street, on Juanuary 24th 1977, according to news of yesterday's newspaper Il Messaggero. The newspapers tell that this has been said by judges Pier Luigi Vigna, from Florenzia, and Alberto Macchia, from Rome, who have been after the fascist subversion in Italy and its international connections. The news about the presence of an Italian fascist terrorist ( already very known in this country by charges on criminal violence -according to Il Messaggero) in Atocha Street were given by an Italian ex-fascist that is now collaborating with them.

These judges have the conviction that the Atocha affair, where 5 lawyers were killed, is only a first step that carries us much more far; in fact, to the existence of a real neo-fascists gang that under the flags of the “Black International” have performed several bloody killings all over Europe. Accordin to the confessions of the ex-fascist, now it is remembered that the Spanish authorities didn't answer to the Italian judges when they asked how an Ingram M-10 submachime gun (“marietta”), the same type of gun used to murder the Spanish lawyers, was owned by Pier Luigi Concutelli, Military Chief of Ordine Nuovo (New Order).

The most possible “italian of Atocha” is Stefano delle Chiae, a “Il Caccola” (“The little shit”), creator of Avanguardia Nazionale and with a long career as an international extreme-right-wing terrorist. In 1970 he helped a coup d'état attempt leaded by the “Black Prince”, Junio Valero Borghese (dead in his house at Cadiz, Spain, in 1982); in this actions, he stole guns from the Internal Affairs Ministry armory to give them to the 192 forest guards that were “first line” of the failed coup. He helped the new subversive attempts of the organizarion “Rosa dei Venti” (symbol of the NATO and the CIA), created in 1970 by members of right-wing organizations and militaries, who tried another attempt on 1973. He was indirectly related to the “Gladio Operation” (NATO militaries that prepared a coup-d'état in case that the democratic Italian Communist Party won elections). He arrived to Barcelona in the same year 1973, with other Fascism activists using the import-export ENIESA company, that carried men and weapons all over Europe, and he was the “technical creator” of the Italian extreme-right-wing organization in Madrid during 1974 and 1975, centered arount the pizza restaurant Il Appuntamento, sited in 6, Marqu s de Legan s St., Madrid. Soon this restaurant became a meeting point of the Italian and Spanish extreme-right leaders and activists. Among the Spanish, a good group of the -in that time- Madrid Social and Political Brigate (the main unit for repression during Franco's totalitarism), were they hired mercenaries to execute black operations. Before in 1972, Italian activists had already made operations for SECED (the Spanish Secret Service, in those years) and as a payment they could print the neonazi magazine “Confidentiel” in the printers of the Spanish Military Printer; at the same time, the President Carrero Blanco let them use External Radio of Spain to broadcast their propaganda in Italian, French and English, under the responsability of Vincenzo Vinciguerra, related to the Peteano massacre. As delle Chiae would say years later, “we came into Spain with the authorization of General Franco, so we didn't need any other help”.

Delle Chiae was condemned in absence by Italian courts by the following crimes: 6-5-76, 2 years for the creation of the violent group Avanguardia Nazionale; 5-7-77, 3 years because the assault of a school in Rome, in 1969; 6-14-78, 5 years because of his implication in the “Borghese coup”; orders of search and capture were provided against him because of his implication in the murder of Occorsio (march 1982), the Bologna station massacre (april 1982, hundredths of victims), and the Fontana Square massacre (december 1982). He was judged by the temptative of killing that the president of Chile Christian-Democracy suffered in may 83, but he was set free. In some photos, he appears during the killings of Montejurra 76 (Spain), and the ex-comisary general for Information, the also ex-fascist Roberto Conesa, relates him directly to the Spanish Security Services and very specially with the Governation Ministry, Manuel Fraga Iribarne, that currently is a “convinced democrat” (!) and president of Galizia community. The case of the killing of the basque radical deputy Santiago Brouard also contains his name. His story is much, much longer.

In January 1977, 13 days before Atocha, he absolutely *was* in Madrid, as we can see in the register of the General Commisary for Information.

The presumed implication of these Italian “refugees” (specialized, as we have seen, in popular killings) was not taken under account by the judges that judged the Atocha case in 1980. One of them, Pietro Benvenuto, was arrested and after interrogation he was set free. The obscure context of the massacre became a typical oral suit, that didn't try to answer these questions: political connection of assaulters; possible help from policemen; the origin of the guns used in the crime; and what was done with a money (15000 dollars, 1977) that was “lost” by the old (vertical) Transport Syndicate of Madrid.

During the judgement, the maximum leaders of Fuerza Nueva (a “moderate”(!) extreme-right-wing organization) and the policemen Antonio Gonz lez Pacheco <a “Billy the Kid” and Jos Luis Gonz lez Gay, bu t nothing was found. The ammunition that was found in Atocha street was the same type than the ammunition given to chiefs and officers of the Army. The guns used in the crime had an unknown origin. The Browning F/N 9mm Para pistol used by Jos Fern ndez Cerr “was found in the stre et” (!), and the Star that Carlos Garc a Juli used to re-kill the lawyers “had been found in Canarias, while he was serving in the Army”. The Gun Intervention Service of the Civil Guard (in Spain all gunnery is strictly controlled and noted by the Civil Guard) could not find who these guns belonged to. The Ingram M-10 submachinegun used in the crime could be the same that the Italian neo-fascist Concutelli owned. They had more guns.

The five prosecuted “ultras”, Fern ndez Cerr , Garc a Juli , Leo cadio Jim nez Caravaca, Francisco Albadalejo Corredera and Gloria Herguedas, had direct political connections with the Franco Guard, Spanish Falange-JONS and Fuerza Nueva (New Force). Some of them had worked as escortmen of Blas Pi ar (leader of Fuerza Nueva) and Raimundo Fern nd ez Cuesta (important leader of Falange, the official unique party during Franco's totalitarism). These two leaders denied any political or personal link with the assaulters.

Today, twenty years later, we can only remember these five persons and comrades that were killed for the Freedom of all Spanish people, with the uncomfortable feeling that many crimes were never judged in Spain.

So, I please ask you to REMIND THE MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING COMRADES AND FRIENDS:

- FRANCISCO JAVIER SAUQUILLO

- LUIS JAVIER BENAVIDES

- SERAF N HOLGADO

- ENRIQUE VALDEVIRA

- NGEL RODR GUEZ LEAL

who were brutally murdered by Fascism because of their struggle in the defense of the rights of workers, Freedom and Socialism, and,

I also ask you to keep in your memory the names of Luis Ramos, Miguel ngel Sarabia, Alejandro Ru z-Huerta and Mar a Dolores Gonz lez ( and the kid she was carrying), who saved their lives although seriously wounded, in the same action.

(Sad) greetings to everyone, from Valencia (Spain), January 24th, 1997,

Toni