Spanish police have detained at least 10 people with alleged links to the Basque separatist group ETA just over a week after the group declared a "permanent and general ceasefire." The Spanish interior ministry said most of the arrests were carried out early on Tuesday in the northern region of Navarra after suspects allegedly tried to reactivate the pro-ETA group Ekin. Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said the operation illustrates the government's pursuit of...

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was among the keynote speakers. Concomitantly, in Cádiz, Spain, the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB) held its 40th general assembly. Both international organizations lashed out at Venezuelan government onslaught on the media and their representatives which are critic of the government November 8 "Chávez needs silence of the media," IAPA cautions The government of President Hugo Chávez seeks to control the...

Spain expects to "maintain a cooperation" with Venezuela "in the fight against terrorism," at a time when the Spanish justice requested the extradition of the Spanish-Venezuelan citizen Arturo Cubillas, who has been accused of training members of the Basque armed group ETA in Venezuela. "We, as Spanish authorities, expect to keep cooperation in the fight against terrorism with Venezuelan authorities," Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez said in a...

Iñaki Anasagasti, a Basque deputy for the parliamentary group of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), recalled that Basque separatist group ETA is a very sensitive issue in Spain. Therefore, if the Venezuelan government makes the mistake of preventing the extradition of Arturo Cubillas for prosecution in Spain, "this will become a major reason for confrontation." Cubillas holds a government job in Venezuela. Anasagasti urged new Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad...

The Spanish government claimed on Tuesday to trust in a reply from Venezuela concerning the potential extradition of a public servant of the administration of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez and alleged ETA member Arturo Cubillas. "On behalf of the Spanish government, extradition of Cubillas has been requested, and now the Venezuelan government should issue an opinion, bearing in mind that Cubillas is both a Spanish and Venezuelan citizen," Spanish Minister of Foreign...

Spanish opposition People's Party filed a motion before the Congress to require the government to take action against Venezuela after the "police and judicial determination of ETA activity" in the South American country, news agency Europa Press reported. The initiative calls for the Spanish government to voice a "strong protest" against Venezuelan authorities. Further, it requires Madrid to demand information from Caracas regarding both the activities of ETA in...

The government of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has decided to launch an investigation into the activities of ETA activist Arturo Cubillas Fontán after it emerged that he provided weapons training to Xabier Atristain and Juan Carlos Besance, two alleged members of Basque terrorist group ETA, in Venezuela in 2008. Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, informed the decision to Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos in a...

The alleged training of ETA members in Venezuela stirs controversy (Photo: AP) Spain's National Court Judge Eloy Velasco, who is investigating the alleged links between Basque separatist group ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group, thinks that both armed organizations developed and produced weapons in Venezuela, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Judge Velasco, who instructed the Spanish police to travel to Colombia to interrogate nine...

Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega with Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón (Photo: EFE) The government of Spain on Wednesday asked the Venezuelan Executive Office for a more intense cooperation in the investigations related to the activities of the Basque separatist group ETA in Venezuela, as well as to take concrete actions regarding former ETA activist Arturo Cubillas, who is a senior official at the Venezuelan Ministry of...

Titled “Polluting the Public Square: Anti-Semitic Discourse in Spain,” the report released last week points to “more public expressions and greater acceptance of virulent anti-Jewish attitudes.” The report, which was presented to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, focuses on recent trends in Spain, including anti-Jewish attitudes during Israel's Gaza military offensive last winter, and anti-Semitic cartoons and articles in Spain's mainstream media. In addition,...