Spanish police announced Monday that they had dismantled a cell of The Base, a neo-Nazi and white supremacist group designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
This movement founded in the United States operates through a decentralized international network of paramilitary cells with the aim of carrying out attacks and preparing for a “race war”, the police said in a press release.
An investigation launched earlier this year made it possible to discover a Spanish cell whose members were “highly radicalized” and had trained using “paramilitary techniques and equipment”, the same source said.
In recent months, the suspects had encouraged the commission of “violent acts, going so far as to openly declare that they were ready to carry out targeted attacks for the cause”.
Attacks targeting Western institutions
The head of the cell was in “direct contact” with the founder of the American group, which recently called for “targeted attacks with the aim of overthrowing Western democratic institutions”.
Three people were arrested last week, including the head of this Spanish cell, who was detained. They are accused of membership in a terrorist organization, recruitment, indoctrination and training for terrorist purposes, as well as illegal possession of weapons. Law enforcement seized two firearms, ammunition and neo-Nazi propaganda during searches in the eastern province of Castellón.
American Rinaldo Nazzaro founded the group in 2018 as a network for far-right nationalists preparing for armed conflict, before moving to St. Petersburg and acquiring Russian citizenship, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank.
Last year, the European Union added “The Base” to its list of terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on its members including a travel ban and asset freeze in Europe.