French police have arrested the alleged head of Spain’s ETA, a organization that bombed the Madrid airport in 2006 and tried to assassinate King Juan Carlos in 2004.
Both the United States and the European Union consider ETA a terrorist organization.
According to Germany’s Spiegel Online, ETA has claimed responsibility for 10 attacks in Spain since July.
Spanish leaders praised the arrest, but some experts wonder how much of an impact will it really make.
We’re following perspectives from TVE, Reuters, France 24 and the BBC.
Let’s start in a French town near the Spanish border, where French police arrested Miguel de Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, known by the alias Txeroki, along with one other ETA member last night.

Reuters reports that Txeroki will be charged in the killing last December of two Spanish police who were stationed in France. (Reuters)

Txeroki is also believed to have coordinated the 2006 bombing at Madrid’s airport, which killed two. Before the bombing, Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was trying to negotiate with ETA leaders.

The BBC covers the news conference where Zapatero declared the arrest a major step forward for Spain.

“With these arrests, ETA has received an important blow in its organization and its capabilities. Today, ETA is weaker, and Spanish democracy is stronger.” (BBC)

Many Spaniards were thrilled by the arrests. Alberto Surio, a Spanish political analyst, told Spain’s TVE:

"The group that dynamited the last peace process and the element whose answer has been terrorism during a long cycle of violence - that is now almost certainly neutralized and deactivated because of this arrest.” (RTVE)

However, France24 found European experts who clearly disagree.

“ETA is like a hydra. You cut off its head or its arm, and it grows back. I can tell you that his successor has been chosen, and he’s already on the job.” (France 24)

The BBC’s Steve Kingstone also advised caution when analyzing the effect of this arrest, though he noted it is the second major catch for police in recent months.

“Monday’s breakthrough came six months after the detention of ETA’s alleged political commander, Francisco Javier López Peña, who’d also been on the run in France. Taken together, the two arrests will leave ETA weakened but not defeated. Throughout it’s history, the group has shown a strong capacity for renewal.” (BBC)

Will Txeroki’s arrest bring an end to ETA? Or will one of Europe’s most powerful terrorist groups reorganize under new leadership? We invite you to check out our sources and leave your comments.