Basque Rebels Kill Young Politician
A young Basque politician whose kidnapping by Basque separatists provoked widespread outrage among Spaniards died early today, hours after he was found on a roadside shot twice in the head.
Miguel Angel Blanco had been dumped on a rural road Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar led a demonstration of half a million people demanding his release.
The militant separatist group Basque Homeland and Freedom, or ETA, kidnapped Blanco on Thursday and threatened to execute him at 4 p.m. Saturday unless ETA prisoners were transferred to prisons in the Basque region.
Blanco, 29, died about 4 a.m. Sunday, nearly 12 hours after being admitted to a San Sebastian hospital in a coma, Dr. Francisco Garcia Urra said.
The ETA’s threat to kill Blanco, a city councilman with Aznar’s Popular Party, had galvanized Spain like no other event in recent memory.
With the government refusing to make concessions and many fearing Blanco would be killed, demonstrations and vigils were held Friday nationwide.
On Saturday, anti-ETA demonstrations broke out in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities.
Protests continued into the early hours today, with large crowds taking to the streets in more than a dozen cities. In central Madrid, more than 50,000 people chanted, “Murderers! Murderers!”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
