Catalan People's Army

The Catalan People's Army (Exèrcit Popular Català, EPOCA), known by its members as La Casa,[1] was a Catalan nationalist paramilitary group which existed during the 1970s.[2]

This article is about the paramilitary group supporting Catalan independence from Spain, active from 1976 to 1980. For the Civil War-era military unit, see People's Army of Catalonia.

Catalan People's Army
Exèrcit Popular Català
Leader(s)	Jaume Martínez Vendrell
Foundation	1969
Dissolved	1979
Motives	The creation of an independent state of Catalonia
Ideology	Catalan nationalism

History

The group was founded in 1969, as a breakaway group of the National Front of Catalonia.[3] Jaume Martínez Vendrell, the leader of the military wing of the National Front, became its commander.[4][5] EPOCA trained its militants in urban warfare techniques, smuggling in weaponry from Switzerland.[6]

The group came to prominence through a number of assassinations, committed by attaching pressure-triggered bombs to the bodies of their victims, demanding ransoms, and when they weren't received, leaving the bombs to explode, killing their victims in the process.[7][8] In this way, the group assassinated in 1977 the industrialist and chemical tycoon José María Bultó, and in 1978 the ex-mayor of Barcelona, Joaquín Viola, along with his wife.[9][10][11]

By 1979, the group had become inactive in comparison with many other contemporary groups. Following discussions with paramilitaries from Terra Lliure, the groups decided to merge.[11][12][1] This led to many of the better-trained EPOCA militants joining Terra Lliure.[12]

Trials and justice

Seven people were arrested in connection with the killings of Bultó and the Violas.[13] Two of them were tried in 1980; one was acquitted entirely, whilst Martínez Vendrell, the other, was sentenced to a year and three months in prison, although this was not directly related to the assassinations.[14] However, he had already served this time awaiting trial, so was immediately released.[15] The remaining five were tried in 1982, saying at the time that they "learned of the assassination through the newspapers and television".[16]

A number of additional arrests were made towards the end of 1980 in connection with the construction of the bombs that were used in the killings.[17]

See also

• Terra Lliure
• Front d'Alliberament de Catalunya

References

1. Jiménez Ramos, María; Domínguez Iribarren, Florencio; Marrodán Ciordia, Javier (2019). Heridos y olvidados : los supervivientes del terrorismo en España [Injured and forgotten: the survivors of terrorism in Spain] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros. ISBN 978-84-9164-520-7. OCLC 1090543709.
2. Campuzano Carvajal, Francisco; Guereña, Jean-Louis; Orobon, Mark-Angele; et al. (2002). Les nationalismes en Espagne : de l'État libéral à l'État des autonomies, 1876-1978 [Nationalisms in Spain: from the liberal state to the state of autonomies, 1876-1978] (in French). Montpelier: Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée. doi:10.4000/books.pulm.761. ISBN 2-84269-472-4. OCLC 469301145. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
3. "Dinero para un ejército independentista catalán". El País (Basque Country ed.). 6 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2020 – via ProQuest.
4. Cornellà-Detrell, Jordi (2018). "La circulació de llibres clandestins durant el franquisme" [The circulation of clandestine books during the era of Franco]. Querol (in Catalan). No. 22. pp. 44–50. Retrieved 22 June 2020. ho va fer un comando de l’Exèrcit Popular Català dirigit per Jaume Martínez Vendrell.
5. Oriols, Pol Vila (2014). "Àngel Serra, alcalde republicà de Puig-reig". l'Erol (119): 17. ISSN 2385-3492 – via Dialnet.
6. "El resurgir de Terra Lliure" [The resurgence of Terra Lliure]. Observatorio de Seguridad y Defensa (in Spanish). 16 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
7. Cuesta, Carlos (8 October 2013). "Maravillosos moderados" [Marvellous moderates]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
8. Segura Julian, Martí (30 June 2017). Terrorism: understanding Terra Lliure using the Structural-Cognitive Model (Masters degree thesis). Leiden University.
9. Sánchez Soler, Mariano, 1954- (2010). La transición sangrienta : una historia violenta del proceso democrático en España, 1975-1983 (1a ed.). Barcelona: Península. ISBN 978-84-9942-001-1. OCLC 609530404.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. Ucelay da Cal, Enric (2018). Breve historia del separatismo catalán [A brief history of Catalan separatism] (in Spanish) (First ed.). Barcelona: Penguin Random House. p. 213. ISBN 978-84-666-6511-7. OCLC 1078344963.
11. Segura, Cristian (2015-12-25). "Terra Lliure: Los antiguos violentos irrumpen en el 'procés'" [Terra Lliure: The old violent actors burst into the 'process']. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
12. Lleida, Miquel Albamur (2013). La voz callada de Cataluña. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-1291538113. OCLC 923828024.
13. "La policía revela extrañas implicaciones en los casos Viola y Bultó" [The police reveal strange implications in the Viola and Bultó cases]. El País (in Spanish). 1979-03-15. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
14. Gor, Francisco (1982-01-20). "Caso Bultó: dos sentencias con fallos dispares". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
15. "Puestos en libertad los dos procesados por el caso Bultó" [Freed: the two arrested in the Bultó case]. El País (in Spanish). 1980-06-18. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
16. Gor, Francisco (1982-01-12). "Los procesados en el "caso Bultó" declara que se enteraron del asesinato por los diarios y la televisión" [The suspects in the "Bultó case" declare that they learned of the assassination through the papers and TV]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
17. Quinta, Alfons (1980-10-16). "Detenidos los presuntos constructores de las bombas que ocasionaron las muertes de Bultó y del matrimonio Viola" [The suspected constructors of the bombs which caused the deaths of Bultó and the Violas are detained]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-06-22.