One of the cruelest ETA members in the history of Spain, Jesús María Zabarte, better known as ‘butcher of Mondragón’died last Monday, June 29, at the age of 80. The Naiz media reported the death of one of the best-known members of the terrorist group and author of the murder of 17 peopleincluding a 13-year-old boy.
Zabarte was sentenced to more than 600 years in prison for his involvement in some of the most terrifying attacks in the history of Spain, in addition to lead the Donosti command. Following the ruling of the National Court, he was released after 29 years, specifically in 2013, after he was one of the beneficiaries of the annulment of the Parot doctrine after a controversial decision by the Strasbourg Court.
The long history of crimes of the ‘butcher of Mondragón’
In 1972 he began his criminal career after being implicated in a shooting in Quinta Real (Navarra)and just a year later he was imprisoned. Just four years later benefited from the Amnesty Law and it didn’t take long for the terror to spread again. In fact, in 1984 he was arrested for a shooting in Hernani.
The terrorist group ETA.
One of his most memorable attacks occurred in 1989 in Azcoitia. Zabarte exploded a bomb that was intended to end the life of an agent of the Civil Guard. However, that also caused the death of a 13-year-old boy, something he never regretted in his appearances before the Spanish justice system.
In total there are 17 fatalities from the attacks by the ‘butcher of Mondragón’, being agents of the Civil Guard and Police their main victims. One of his cruelest acts took place in Andoain, when he shot an unarmed officer who was heading home after getting off a train.