Members of the Basque terrorist group Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) are conducting financial and propaganda activities in Bolivia with the knowledge of President Evo Morales, according to Spanish intelligence reports cited by the Madrid newspaper El Pais.
ETA in Latin America
The Basque terrorist group ETA continues to maintain recruitment and logistic cells beyond the borders of Spain and France. According to recent European Union estimates, there are over two hundred ETA members worldwide. However, despite its small numbers, ETA has carried out a substantial number of terrorist actions in Spain and France.
Approximately one hundred ETA members reside in Latin America, with some fifty operating in Mexico; several dozen in Venezuela; limited numbers in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Argentina; and more than twenty operating within Cuba (source). Since the mid-1990s, Latin America governments, particularly the Mexican government, have deported ETA members at the request of the Spanish government. Currently, Cuba provides the largest safe-haven to Basque ETA members. Most of the ETA presence in Latin America has resulted from transfer agreements between the Spanish government and the government of the receiving country.
ETA activities in Latin American appear to be focused on financing ETA operations and recruiting. ETA members conduct money-laundering operations and collect “revolutionary taxes” from the Basque residents living in Latin America. ETA financing cells raise an estimated $10 million dollars (US) annually from Basque expatriate communities worldwide, the majority of which reside in Latin America. Additionally, the Cuban government has provided military training for ETA militants.
A Sanctuary in Bolivia
The Washington Times reported on March 9, 2007, that six members of the Basque separatist organization traveled to Bolivia and met with high-level officials of the Morales government during the past year. Unidentified Bolivian government officials have confirmed that Morales and ETA leadership established relations prior to Morales’ 2006 inauguration. To date, President Morales has publicly denied any links with the Basque separatists.
Members of the Askapena, which is associated with ETA’s political wing Herri Batasuna, were invited to attend sessions of Bolivian Congress in 2006. Currently, Askapena members are actively purchasing homes and land in Bolivia, creating a new refuge for the organization. All Askapena home and land purchases have been made near Cochabamba, which is close to Bolivia’s narco-trafficking center and legal coca plantation zone in the Chapare Valley. This area has historically been a stronghold for President Morales’ left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, and the place Morales takes refuge during times of internal crisis. ETA’s political wing, Herri Batasuna, now believes the MAS government is a “model” for the Basque region.
ETA has historically found asylum in Latin American countries with radical leftist regimes. Morales’ election victory in 2005 has allowed ETA to establish Latin American bases of operations outside of Cuba, which is likely to experience a presidential leadership change in the near-term.
Spanish Involvement
The Spanish foreign ministry is expected to declare whether criminal charges will be brought against any ETA members residing in Bolivia. Extraditions are unlikely at this point. According to a Spanish official, extradition is not a valid alternative, “due to the nature of existing legal agreements with Bolivia.” ETA’s historical relationship with leftist Latin American regimes will prevent the Bolivian government from authorizing ETA criminal extradition to Spain. Although ETA logistic and finance cells pose little threat to foreign nationals residing or traveling in Latin America, the sanctuaries leftist governments offer to these ETA groupings will continue to promote ETA ‘s violent struggle against the Spanish government. With the collapse of the Spanish-ETA ceasefire agreement following the December 30, 2006 Madrid airport attack, ETA finance and logistic cells in Latin America will likely accelerate their activities to provide ETA separatists with material and financial resources in any near-term attack against the Spanish or French governments .
