French police arrest key ETA leaders amid fears of fresh recruitment drive

French police have arrested ETA’s military leader Oroitz Gurruchaga Gogorza and his deputy in a joint operation on the Basque separatist group with the Spanish police.

Gurruchaga and Xabier Aramburu were arrested in the southwestern French village of Cauna while travelling in a stolen vehicle with fake number plates, the Spanish interior ministry said, adding that both men were armed with guns.

“The presence of both men in southern France could indicate they were setting up meetings to recruit new ETA members,” the ministry said.