MADRID, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Spanish police said on Monday they had broken up the country’s first known cell linked to The Base, a white supremacist group designated as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.
Three people were arrested and one, suspected of leading the group, has been remanded in custody in the eastern province of Castellon, north of Valencia. A number of weapons including two firearms, seven training weapons, ammunition, more than 20 knives, tactical gear and neo-Nazi material were recovered.
The arrests come as broader far-right sentiment rises in Spain, where polls show growing youth support for nationalist groups and renewed debate over the country’s authoritarian past.
The Base, a neo-Nazi group founded by Rinaldo Nazzaro in 2018 in the United States, promotes “accelerationism,” an ideology that seeks to hasten the collapse of democratic institutions through violent attacks.
“The leader of the Spanish cell was in direct contact with the founder of The Base, who a month ago called for the consolidation of cells spread across several countries,” the police said in a statement.
Police added the suspects were highly radicalised and had conducted paramilitary training. They had also expressed readiness to carry out selective attacks and used social media to recruit sympathisers.
(Reporting by Jesus Calero, editing by Aislinn Laing and Sharon Singleton)
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