José Torralba López

Description

Civil guards Luis Martos García and José Torralba López were both working at the tax inspection post in Irún. Their job was to check trucks crossing the border. At about 8:15 pm on 16 April 1980, they were at the customs post in Irún, on the French border, when they were machine-gunned in the back by two ETA terrorists. The terrorists approached from behind and Luis and José did not see them coming. They fired several bursts of machine gun fire at the hut, firing a total of 38 shots. The officers were attended to by customs officials and were taken to the military hospital in San Sebastián, but they were dead on arrival.

José Torralba López was a member of the Logroño Civil Guard reserve, and had only been working at the Irún border post for five days when he was shot by ETA.

Most customs agents and civil servants in Irún went on strike for a day as a sign of mourning.

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