Suspected ETA commando leader arrested in France

AP via brietbart ^ | 11/17/08 | DANIEL WOOLLS

[Jet Jaguar]

MADRID, Spain (AP) - French and Spanish police arrested the reputed leader of ETA's commando units on Monday—dealing a devastating blow to the armed Basque separatist group.

Mikel de Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, 35, is suspected of taking part in several killings, including the December shooting deaths of two Spanish guardsmen in France, according to French and Spanish officials.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Aspiazu Rubina—known by the alias "Txeroki" (pronounced cher-OH-kee)—has been the operational chief of ETA's hit squads and bombing units for several years.

[Cindy]

Well now, that really good news, jet jaguar.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/mark

[2banana]

I wonder if the Spanish will treat him as Obama will treat our terrorists...

[MathDoc]

Suspected ETA commando leader arrested in France

I despise AP. This man is a terrorist - not a commando, not a freedom fighter, not an insurgent, and not a militant. He is a thug who by preference or for convenience murders innocent civilians and occasionally murders someone in the military or the police by accident. We can call him a thug, a murderer, or a terrorist, but there is no reason to act like such a person might be anything other than pure evil. Congratulations to the French police!

[xJones]

This is a big step forward," Zapatero said. "The terrorist gang ETA is going to suffer very, very deeply from this blow."

I would suspect that Mikel de Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina is going to suffer really badly from a lot of blows. He's being turned over to the Spanish, and "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." He's responsible for the death of several Spaniards, and there is no Spanish version of the ACLU.

[MadMitch]

Agree 100%. Commando makes him sound like a soldier not some POS that plants bombs to kill policemen and innocent civilians.

[pepsi_junkie]

I have it on reasonable authority that France has known the location of ETA terrorists on their soil but won't act. This information came to me in the context of a major business deal I was party to with Spain which France was opposed to. They wanted a French company to win, and they (I'm told) let it slip that some of the ETA leaders just might be able to be found and turned over if things went France's way.

Perhaps there was some similar quid pro quo involved here or perhaps, just maybe, under Sarkozy the French are finally doing the right thing.

[Jet Jaguar]

Interesting. Thanks.