The Puerto Hurraco Massacre

In 1990, brothers Antonio and Emilio Izquierdo opened fire in the village of Puerto Hurraco, killing nine people after a long-running family feud.

A feud that lasted decades

Puerto Hurraco, a small village in Extremadura, became the site of one of Spain’s most infamous mass killings on 26 August 1990. The attack grew out of a bitter conflict between the Izquierdo and Cabanillas families that had already produced violence and deaths over many years.

The attack

Brothers Antonio and Emilio Izquierdo entered the village armed with shotguns and fired at residents in the street. Nine people were killed and others were wounded. The brothers fled into the countryside after the shooting.

Arrest and trial

Police captured the brothers shortly afterward. They were convicted and received sentences totaling hundreds of years under Spanish sentencing rules, although the actual time that could be served was limited by law.

National impact

The massacre shocked Spain because it combined a long-standing local feud with indiscriminate violence against people who were not directly involved in the original dispute. Puerto Hurraco became shorthand for the destructive escalation of family vendettas and remains one of the country’s most remembered mass-homicide cases.