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First of October Antifascist Resistance Group———139

his activities in Afghanistan during that country’s
resistance against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. From FIRST OF OCTOBER ANTIFASCIST
this involvement, bin Laden developed a network of RESISTANCE GROUP
allies whose reach is worldwide.
This network includes extensive training, educa-
tion, publications, and the maintenance of Al Qaeda The First of October Antifascist Resistance Group
cells in many parts of the world. These cells some- (GRAPO) is a Spanish leftist terrorist organization
times turn to ordinary crime to raise revenue. Groups founded in the mid-1970s. From the beginning of its
with Al Qaeda affiliation have been involved in stolen existence it has been overshadowed by the larger and
merchandise rings and in various kinds of smuggling. more active nationalist Basque Fatherland and Liberty
Bin Laden has also invested heavily in a number of (Euskadi ta Askatasuna; ETA), and little is known
business enterprises, some of which (such as trans- about the group.
portation businesses) are directly related to the The group seems to have originated as the armed
group’s violent mission and some of which have been wing of the Reconstituted Communist Party, a hard-
chosen apparently solely for their earnings potential. line faction that broke from the Spanish Communist
This web of businesses provides Al Qaeda with cam- Party in 1968. GRAPO takes its name from date of the
ouflage to better conduct terrorist strikes; a depend- revenge killing of four police officers on October 1,
able, expanding source of funds; and a method of 1975; the four were murdered in retaliation for the
raising money that is well hidden from governments execution by Francisco Franco’s regime of three radi-
seeking to stop Al Qaeda activities. cal leftists in September 1975. GRAPO advocates a
To interrupt the flow of terrorist funds, some gov- Leninist revolutionary strategy, in which a vanguard
ernments have created various agreements that essen- of Communist rebels acts as a catalyst for revolution
tially make financial transactions more transparent by the working class; in practice, its attacks, inasmuch
and outlaw certain kinds of financial activities. In as they seem to be directed toward a political goal,
1999, for example, the U.N. General Assembly unan- seem to center around getting amnesty for and better
imously adopted the International Convention on treatment of political prisoners. (The group did, how-
the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. This ever, organize a bombing campaign in support of labor
agreement focuses on the financial supporters of ter- interests during 2000.) While GRAPO has engaged
rorist activities rather than either terrorists or acts of in several bombing campaigns, kidnappings, and rob-
terrorism, thus allowing for greater flexibility in using beries during its history, the group’s main tactic has
criminal law to combat terrorism. been assassinations, mostly of security forces and
other government officials.
See also AL QAEDA; OSAMA BIN LADEN; COUNTERTERRORISM; GRAPO was most active between 1976 and 1982, a
IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY; NARCOTERRORISM; THE ORDER; time of great upheaval in Spain. The fascist dictator-
REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA ship of Gen. Francisco Franco had come to an end with
his death in October 1975, and the country was mak-
ing the difficult transition to democracy and restoration
Further Reading
of a constitutional monarchy. Many pro-Franco offi-
Adams, James. The Financing of Terrorism: How the cials retained high positions in the government and
Groups That Are Terrorizing the World Get the Money to especially the military, while political activity by radi-
Do It. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. cal leftists increased greatly after long suppression.
Clutterbuck, Richard. Terrorism, Drugs and Crime in During these years, GRAPO was at its most vehement
Europe After 1992. New York: Routledge, 1990. about demands for amnesty for political prisoners, a
Emerson, Steven. American Jihad: The Terrorists Living very controversial issue in Spanish politics.
Among Us. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.
Schweitzer, Glenn E., with Carole C. Dorsch. Super- Despite GRAPO’s attacks on rightist figures such
Terrorism: Assassins, Mobsters, and Weapons of Mass as military generals, speculation was widespread that
Destruction. New York: Plenum Trade, 1998. the group was a cat’s-paw of the extreme Spanish
Walter, Ingo. Secret Money: The World of International right. Accusers point to the timing of GRAPO’s
Financial Secrecy. London: Allen and Unwin, 1985. attacks—many of the most spectacular occurred