Leganés Honors Gregorio Ordóñez on 30th Anniversary of Murder by ETA

Leganés, Spain, hosted a commemoration today, February 23, 2026, honoring Gregorio Ordóñez, a politician assassinated by the Basque separatist group ETA thirty years ago.

The event marks the three-decade anniversary of Ordóñez’s death, a pivotal moment in the history of ETA’s campaign of violence. Ordóñez, a prominent member of the People’s Party (PP), was targeted in February 1995, an act that significantly escalated tensions and prompted a strong response from the Spanish government.

The commemoration comes amid renewed scrutiny of ETA’s legacy and ongoing debates surrounding the integration of former members back into Spanish society. The group formally dissolved in May 2018, but its actions continue to cast a long shadow over Spanish politics and society.

A documentary film, Gregorio Ordóñez, el asesinato que despertó la rebelión contra ETA (Gregorio Ordóñez, the murder that awakened the rebellion against ETA), produced by El Diario Vasco with the collaboration of Gogora and the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, was presented in Donostia (San Sebastián) on January 23, 2025, coinciding with the 30th anniversary. The film explores the circumstances surrounding Ordóñez’s assassination and its impact on the fight against ETA.

In Madrid, on January 21, 2025, a presentation of a documentary about Gregorio Ordóñez was held by the Community of Madrid and the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, led by Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza. The event was attended by former Prime Minister José María Aznar, Ordóñez’s widow, Ana Iríbar, and the documentary’s director, Iñaki Arteta.

During the Madrid presentation, Aznar called for honoring Ordóñez’s memory and criticized the current government’s agreements with Bildu, a Basque political party with links to ETA’s political wing. He stated, Honrar hoy la memoria de Gregorio será comprometerse con una tarea inconclusa: deslegitimar las coartadas póstumas de ETA y atajar la impunidad histórica a que aspiran sus legatarios (Honoring Gregorio’s memory today will mean committing to an unfinished task: to delegitimize ETA’s posthumous excuses and curb the historical impunity to which its heirs aspire).

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the president of the PP, also participated in a separate tribute in Madrid, alongside the city’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, where a floral offering was made in memory of the politician.

ETA’s campaign of violence, which spanned decades, resulted in the deaths of over 800 people. The group sought an independent Basque state and employed tactics including bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings. The assassination of Gregorio Ordóñez was considered a significant escalation in their strategy, marking a shift towards targeting more prominent political figures.

The targeting of Ordóñez, described in some analyses as the first major step in ETA’s strategy of socialización del sufrimiento (socialization of suffering), aimed to increase public pressure on the Spanish government and garner sympathy for the Basque cause. This strategy involved deliberately targeting individuals perceived as symbols of the Spanish state, intending to create a sense of fear and vulnerability.

The 30th anniversary of Ordóñez’s assassination serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of political violence and the enduring challenges of reconciliation in Spain. The events commemorating his death underscore the ongoing need to address the legacy of ETA and to ensure that the sacrifices of its victims are not forgotten.

The presentation of the documentary, Esta es una historia real (This is a real story), aims to provide a comprehensive account of Ordóñez’s life and death, offering insights into the political climate of the time and the motivations behind ETA’s actions. The film is intended to contribute to a broader understanding of the conflict and its lasting consequences.