National
Thank you for your sacrifice, Juan Manuel
By h.b.
May 16, 2008 - 1:32 AM

The van used by ETA to carry out the bomb attack against the Legutiano Civil Guard Barracks in the early hours of Wednesday had been stolen previously in France.
It was taken when the keys were left in the ignition by the owner in Limoges, and police think that the bomb was made and assembled in France. They see similarities in the case and that of the failed attack last September in Logroño.
Police say that they are now looking for a new ETA ‘car bomb factory’ in France.

The funeral has taken place for the victim of the Legutiano bomb. 41 year old Juan Manuel Piñuel Villalón, known as Manolo, was married and had a small son, with the family living in the El Palo area of Málaga. He had only been stationed in the Basque region for two months.

At the funeral in the new cathedral in Vitoria, the Prince and Princess of Asturias lead the mourners and the authorities, with the coffin held on the shoulders of eight of Manolo’s colleagues.
Behind, Maria Victoria, the widow, visibly upset and supported by several members of her family.

The Legutiano Civil Guard barracks were seriously damaged by the blast - Photo EFE

The Government was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega. Zapatero is in Peru for the Latin American summit. The opposition PP was represented by the party’s new spokesperson, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria.

The silence of the funeral was broken by a member of the congregation who shouted out loud.
‘Juan Manuel. You have died for being Spanish in a land where being Spanish can cost you your life. Thank you for your sacrifice. Now others will pick up your baton’.

The Spanish said goodbye to the Civil Guard with applause and ¡Viva!s. The same cheers were heard after his body was being brought back to Málaga for burial yesterday evening.

Hundreds of Civil Guards formed a guard of honour for the cortege at its arrival at the Málaga cemetery, with the most emotional moment coming as a member of the force handed the Spanish flag which had been draped over the coffin to Juan Manuel’s widow.