MADRID (Reuters) – ETA’s military chief has been arrested by French police, a Spanish government source said yesterday, marking the third suspected leader of the Basque separatist guerrillas to be captured in under six months.
Jurdan Martitegi, 28, had a pistol and was using a stolen car with false plates when he was arrested in southern France, along with two other suspected ETA members, the source said.
The French Interior Ministry confirmed France had arrested three alleged members of ETA in Montauriol, in the eastern Pyrenees region near Spain, one a leading ETA figure.
Spanish media said police captured Martitegi, his bodyguard Mikel Oroz and suspected ETA cell leader Alex Uriarte, who was also armed and driving a stolen car.
Nearly 2 metres tall, strongly built and known as “the giant”, Martitegi is regarded as one of the most dangerous men in Spain and France, where his photo appears on wanted posters in airports and train stations.
He had been on the run since July when Spanish police broke up ETA’s main attack unit, known as the “Vizcaya cell”, which was blamed for a string of bombings on police stations and government buildings.
