The Kidnapping and Murder of Miguel Ángel Blanco

Miguel Ángel Blanco Garrido was a 29-year-old councillor in Ermua, Biscay. On July 10, 1997, members of ETA kidnapped him while he was on his way to work and announced an ultimatum demanding the transfer of imprisoned ETA members. The kidnapping triggered mass demonstrations across Spain.

The kidnapping and ultimatum

According to the prosecution record later used at trial, Blanco was abducted on July 10, 1997 and held while ETA publicly threatened to kill him if its demand was not met by the afternoon of July 12.

After the deadline expired, Blanco was found gravely wounded near Lasarte. He was taken to hospital and died on July 13. This page avoids the graphic description of his injuries that appears in some court reporting.

Convictions of the material perpetrators

In 2006, Spain's National Court convicted Francisco Javier García Gaztelu, known as Txapote, and Irantzu Gallastegui Sodupe, known as Amaia, for terrorist kidnapping and murder. Each received 50 years in prison. Later reporting on their imprisonment continued to identify the Miguel Ángel Blanco conviction among their final criminal sentences.

The National Court and later judicial summaries identify García Gaztelu and Gallastegui as material perpetrators. A third member of the commando, José Luis Geresta, died before he could be tried for Blanco's murder.

Ibon Muñoa's conviction

Ibon Muñoa was separately convicted in 2003 as an accomplice to the kidnapping and murder and received a total of 33 years for those two crimes. The Supreme Court later partially adjusted the way his separate ETA-membership sentence interacted with the kidnapping-and-murder convictions, but it did not erase his complicity conviction.

Muñoa was released from prison in October 2020 after serving his custodial term. Release after sentence service does not alter the fact of the conviction.

Later proceedings against former ETA leaders

Years later, Spanish courts investigated whether former members of ETA's executive leadership could also bear criminal responsibility for ordering or authorizing the kidnapping and killing. In April 2024, an investigating judge formally processed four former leaders — José Javier Arizcuren Ruiz, known as Kantauri; Mikel Albisu Iriarte, known as Mikel Antza; Soledad Iparraguirre, known as Anboto; and Ignacio Gracia Arregui, known as Iñaki de Rentería — on a theory of responsibility linked to organizational control.

Those proceedings did not all end the same way. In October 2024, the National Court permanently dismissed the cases against Anboto, Mikel Antza and Iñaki de Rentería because it considered the charges time-barred. Kantauri's procedural position was treated differently because he had already been processed over the case in 2016, before the then-applicable 20-year limitation period had elapsed.

In March 2025, the deputy prosecutor at Spain's Supreme Court argued against reopening the time-barred cases and asked the court to reject appeals seeking to revive them. Those later proceedings are therefore not equivalent to the final 2006 convictions of the material perpetrators.

Why the status is solved

The core kidnapping and murder are classified as Solved / Adjudicated because the material perpetrators were identified and convicted and an accomplice was also convicted. Wider questions about command responsibility generated additional litigation, but they do not undo the final convictions already obtained for the kidnapping and killing themselves.

Timeline

1. July 10, 1997
   Miguel Ángel Blanco is kidnapped

   ETA announces an ultimatum connected to its imprisoned members.

2. July 12, 1997
   Ultimatum expires

   Blanco is found gravely wounded after the deadline.

3. July 13, 1997
   Death in hospital

   Blanco dies from his injuries.

4. October 2003
   Muñoa convicted

   Ibon Muñoa receives 33 years as an accomplice to terrorist kidnapping and murder.

5. June 30, 2006
   Material perpetrators convicted

   Txapote and Amaia each receive 50 years for terrorist kidnapping and murder.

6. October 2024
   Some leadership cases dismissed as time-barred

   The National Court closes proceedings against three former ETA leaders on limitation grounds.

7. March 5, 2025
   Supreme Court prosecutor opposes reopening

   The deputy prosecutor argues that the time-barred cases should remain closed.

Current status

The kidnapping and murder are Solved / Adjudicated. Francisco Javier García Gaztelu and Irantzu Gallastegui were convicted as material perpetrators, and Ibon Muñoa was convicted as an accomplice. Later attempts to establish broader leadership responsibility have had different procedural outcomes and are reported separately from those final convictions.