Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.
On 11 December 1995, a car bomb was detonated in the Puente de Vallecas district of Madrid, Spain, killing six people and injuring nineteen others. The armed Basque separatist group ETA carried out the attack, which targeted a camouflaged army vehicle that was transporting nine civilian employees of the army toward a nearby motorway.
ETA had placed the car bomb, containing sixty kilograms of amonal, at one of the entrances to the motorway through which army vehicles usually passed. The military vehicle was carrying the civilian employees to their homes in army housing on Peña Prieta Street. As the vehicle passed, the device was detonated remotely, and those responsible fled in a car and by metro.
The Vallecas attack was the third attributed to ETA in 1995. Earlier that year, the group had unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate José María Aznar, then head of the People's Party and Leader of the Opposition, who survived because of the protection provided by his armoured car. In a second attack in June, ETA killed a police officer, Jesús Robello. The December bombing came four days after a meeting of European Union heads of state in Madrid that marked the end of the Spanish Presidency of the EU. ETA had bombed the capital before; the deadliest previous car bombing, at Plaza República Dominicana in July 1986, had killed twelve Civil Guards.
The attack was condemned by all political parties represented in the Spanish parliament, with the exception of ETA's political wing, Batasuna, which declined to comment.
On 27 September 2007, the trial of Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi and Ainhoa Múgica Goñi began. Both were charged with six counts of murder, along with charges relating to the planning and execution of terrorist actions. Olarra, described as ETA's former military head, and Múgica had been arrested in France in September 2002 and were believed to have belonged to the group's Madrid Commando unit. During the proceedings, the two declined to respond beyond stating in Basque that they did not recognise the court's authority to judge them. On 30 October 2007, both were found guilty and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison, although under the sentencing rules in force at the time they were expected to serve a maximum of thirty years.
Key facts
- Victims
- On file
- Date
- 1995
- Location
- Puente de Vallecas, Madrid
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1986-07
An ETA car bombing at Plaza República Dominicana in Madrid killed twelve Civil Guards, the deadliest of the group's earlier Madrid car bombings.
1995
ETA unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate José María Aznar, head of the People's Party and Leader of the Opposition, who survived because of his armoured car.
1995-06
In a second ETA attack that year, a police officer, Jesús Robello, was killed.
1995-12-11
An ETA car bomb was detonated in the Puente de Vallecas district of Madrid, killing six people and injuring nineteen; the target was an army vehicle carrying civilian army employees.
2002-09
Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi and Ainhoa Múgica Goñi were arrested in France.
2007-09-27
The trial of Olarra Guridi and Múgica Goñi opened; both were charged with six counts of murder and terrorism-related offences.
2007-10-30
Both defendants were found guilty and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison, with an expected maximum of thirty years served.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Ainhoa Múgica Goñi
CONVICTEDFound guilty on 30 October 2007 of six counts of murder and terrorism-related charges for the attack; arrested in France in September 2002 and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison.
citation on file
Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi
CONVICTEDFound guilty on 30 October 2007 of six counts of murder and terrorism-related charges for the attack; described as ETA's former military head, arrested in France in September 2002 and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- A car bomb planted by the Basque separatist group ETA in Madrid's Puente de Vallecas district killed six people and injured nineteen on 11 December 1995.
- Where did the bombing happen?
- Puente de Vallecas, Madrid.
- Who was convicted?
- Ainhoa Múgica Goñi (Found guilty on 30 October 2007 of six counts of murder and terrorism-related charges for the attack; arrested in France in September 2002 and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison.) and Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi (Found guilty on 30 October 2007 of six counts of murder and terrorism-related charges for the attack; described as ETA's former military head, arrested in France in September 2002 and sentenced to 1,243 years in prison.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
Sources
- 1995 Vallecas bombingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
- Contemporaneous newspaper coverage of the Vallecas car bombing, 12 December 1995news · La Vanguardia · 2026-07-05
- Coverage of the opening of the trial over the Vallecas bombing, 27 September 2007news · El Mundo · 2026-07-05
Last verified JUL 2026
