The Teenage Anarchist from Scotland and the Plot to Kill Franco

Guardian in 2004, as soon as he arrived at the office he was suspicious his cover had been blown. “It was siesta time and the streets were quiet. Turning the corner to enter the American Express office, I was immediately aware of three smartly dressed and tight-lipped men in heavy-rimmed sunglasses standing by the entrance muttering among themselves.” His fears were confirmed when the clerk went to get the letter. He noticed a pink slip had been attached to the envelope. Before the clerk could hand it over, a supervisor stopped her, telling her to hand the pink slip to two smartly dressed men sitting at an alcove in the office. Only then did the supervisor hand the letter to Christie. “What was in the letter? How much did they know? Would I be arrested there or would they wait until I had met my contact? But if they knew about the Amex pick-up, they probably knew the details of my rendezvous as well.” Christie told the Guardian. He made his way out of the American Express office, clutching the letter. “I turned to see the two men from the alcove quickly walking out. I made a mental note to shaft American Express at every conceivable opportunity, if I were ever again offered an opportunity.” On the street, the men he had earlier noticed outside also began to follow him. Before he could escape into the crowd, Christie was apprehended at gunpoint. The Spanish authorities had infiltrated Defensa Interior long before, allowing them to set the trap. Christie and his Spanish contact: Carballo Blanco, were taken into custody. The teenager was made to watch his accomplice get tortured, although avoided the same fate himself. He signed a confession after four days in detention, and was promptly jailed. Previously, those found guilty of ‘political crimes’ in Spain faced execution by garroting. Blanco and Christie both avoided this fate but were hit with jail terms: thirty years for the former and twenty for the later. Protests erupted around the world at the treatment of the two would-be assassins, providing a poignant reminder of the authoritarian nature of the Franco regime and its treatment of political prisoners. Growing international pressure meant Christie was released after three years. Blanco was not so fortunate, serving his entire sentence and becoming the last political prisoner of the Franco regime. ]]>