La diáspora del terror como herramienta al servicio del discurso nacionalista tras el final de ETA

Abstract

Latin America welcomed numerous ETA members, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. The tolerance shown by the Latin American political authorities until the 1990s and the existence of a large Basque community in the region were two essential factors that made this phenomenon possible. Some ETA members arrived there as deportees, others fleeing from the Spanish justice system and security forces. During their Latin American journey, many of these ETA members collaborated with terrorist groups and insurgent organisations in the scenario under study, at a time when ETA was actively involved with the FARC, MIR and Tupamaros. Currently, these "refugees" are playing a fundamental role in disguising and distorting the real history of ETA, presenting themselves as victims of the Spanish state, which they try to turn into a victimiser, and instrumentalising certain syntagms sponsored by Basque nationalism, such as "normalisation" or "the end of terrorism without winners or losers".