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1980 Ispaster attack

SOLVED1980Road near Ispaster, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

The 1980 Ispaster attack was a gun and grenade assault carried out by the Basque separatist organisation ETA on 1 February 1980, on a road near the town of Ispaster in the Basque Country of northern Spain. The targets were a convoy of Civil Guards escorting workers and weapons from the nearby Esperanza y Cia arms factory to Bilbao. Six Civil Guards were killed, and two ETA members died after being struck by hand grenades they had thrown. According to the source, it was the deadliest ETA attack of 1980, the year in which the organisation killed more people than in any other.

The ambush took place on a Friday morning. ETA had watched similar convoys and planned the operation using information it had gathered. The convoy of four vehicles left the factory at 7:30 am; the first carried technicians, the third carried mortar devices made at the factory, and the second and fourth each carried three Civil Guards. At about 8:15 am the convoy slowed on a winding section of road, where the attackers were concealed by dense vegetation near a small hill. After letting the workers' vehicle pass, they launched a grenade at the second vehicle and opened fire with assault rifles, machine guns and grenades, firing more than 100 shots.

The attackers then approached the vehicles and threw grenades inside. During the second of these, two ETA members were killed when they failed to escape before the grenades detonated; one body was later found six kilometres away, apparently moved by fellow members. The drivers of the trapped third vehicle were released, and the weapons it carried were seized. Alerted by a resident who heard the gunfire, police reached the scene at 9:00 am and recovered grenades, 9mm ammunition and firearms of Belgian origin.

The attack came as devolution to the Basque autonomous region was imminent, with the first regional elections held a month later. It was condemned by the Basque General Council and major regional parties, including the Basque Nationalist Party, the PSOE, Euskadiko Ezkerra and the Union of the Democratic Centre. Disturbances occurred at the funerals of both the Civil Guards and the ETA members.

Legal proceedings extended over two decades. In June 1982 several defendants appeared in court accused of taking part in or assisting the attack. In 1984 Jaime Rementeria Beotegui was found guilty, fined and imprisoned; held since August 1983, he was released in January 2004. Francisco Esquisavel was also convicted and left prison in 2002 after 22 years. The final outstanding case closed in 1999, when Jose Luis Ansola Larranaga was acquitted for lack of evidence. On 13 July 1980 ETA attempted a similar ambush at Orio, killing two Civil Guards before losing two members to a counter-attack.

Key facts

Victims
On file
Date
1980
Location
Road near Ispaster, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1980-02-01

    ETA carries out a gun and grenade ambush on a Civil Guard convoy near Ispaster, killing six Civil Guards; two ETA members die from grenades they had thrown.

  2. 1980-07-13

    ETA attempts a similar ambush at Orio, killing two Civil Guards before two of its members are killed in a counter-attack.

  3. 1982-06-25

    Several defendants appear in court accused of participating in or assisting the attack.

  4. 1983-08

    Jaime Rementeria Beotegui is imprisoned in connection with the case.

  5. 1984

    Jaime Rementeria Beotegui is found guilty of participation, fined and sentenced to prison.

  6. 1999

    Jose Luis Ansola Larranaga is acquitted of involvement for lack of evidence, closing the last outstanding case.

  7. 2002

    Francisco Esquisavel is released from prison after 22 years.

  8. 2004-01

    Jaime Rementeria Beotegui is released from prison.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Juan Ramon Ibarlueca

    CHARGED

    Appeared in court in 1982 accused of cleaning blood stains from a car used in the attack.

  • Jesus Trocaola

    CHARGED

    Appeared in court in 1982 accused of sheltering ETA fugitives who had taken part in the attack.

  • Jaime Rementeria Beotegui

    CONVICTED

    Found guilty in 1984 of participation in the attack, fined and sentenced to prison; imprisoned from August 1983 and released in January 2004.

  • Maria Isabel Mendiola

    CHARGED

    Appeared in court in 1982 accused of driving a getaway car for a participant in the attack.

  • Angel Recalde

    CHARGED

    Appeared in court in 1982 accused of direct participation in the attack.

  • Ana Guerenabarrena

    CHARGED

    Appeared in court in 1982 accused of cleaning blood stains from a car used in the attack.

  • Francisco Esquisavel

    CONVICTED

    Accused in 1982 of direct participation and later found guilty; released from prison in 2002 after 22 years.

  • Eduardo Fungairino

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chief Prosecutor who alleged that Ansola directed the operation and sought a lengthy prison term.

  • Jose Luis Ansola Larranaga

    ACQUITTED

    Acquitted in 1999 for lack of evidence; prosecutors had alleged he directed the operation. Known as "Peio the Elder".

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Road near Ispaster, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain

43.3641, -2.5568

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
An ETA gun and grenade ambush on a Civil Guard convoy near Ispaster, Spain, on 1 February 1980 killed six Civil Guards and two of the attackers.
Where did the crime happen?
Road near Ispaster, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain.
Who was convicted?
Jaime Rementeria Beotegui (Found guilty in 1984 of participation in the attack, fined and sentenced to prison; imprisoned from August 1983 and released in January 2004.) and Francisco Esquisavel (Accused in 1982 of direct participation and later found guilty; released from prison in 2002 after 22 years.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Spain

Sources

  1. 1980 Ispaster attackwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Contemporaneous coverage of ETA and the Ispaster-era attacksnews · BBC News · 2026-07-05
  3. Contemporaneous coverage of the funeral following the Lequeitio (Ispaster) attacknews · El Pais · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026