Basque Man Arrested in UK for Assassination Attempt on Spanish King

A Basque militant was arrested in Cambridge, England on Thursday for his involvement in a 1997 assassination attempt on Spain's King Juan Carlos.

Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui, 44, is alleged to be involved with Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, more commonly known as ETA, a Basque separatist group considered as terrorists by counties like the United States and Great Britain.

Arronategui is wanted by Spanish authorities in connection with the attempted assassination of the king of Spain, terrorism and other serious offenses, Scotland Yard said in a statement.

ETA is a radical political movement that seeks to establish a separate Basque nation in the border region between Spain and France. The Basques are an ethnic group that has been in the area since before the Roman conquest.

Since its inception over 40 years ago, ETA has been responsible for more than 800 deaths.

There has been a European arrest warrant out on Arronategui for his participation in an armed gang; attempted assassination of the king; terrorism resulting in death; possession of weapons; theft and forgery relating to an Oct. 18, 1997 bomb plot that was foiled by Spanish police.

The European warrant means that the suspected ETA member will first be tried in England, at the Westminster Magistrates Court in London. Arronategui is a citizen of Spain.

Arronategui likely fled to England to escape arrest immediately after the failed assassination attempt. He was arrested by Scotland Yard's extradition unit in the famous university city of Cambridge.

I think they just go to Britain because it is the closest country to them and at the same time it is separated by water, which psychologically makes it feel further away, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said at a news conference in Madrid.