Madrid - A suspected Basque separatist gunman shot dead a Spanish ruling-party politician yesterday, Spanish state radio reported. It named the victim as Jose Luis Caso (64), a town councillor from the Popular Party in the town of Renteria. He was shot in a bar at Irun on the border with France.
Mr Caso had received death threats from Basque separatist guerrillas following ETA's assassination of the Basque town councillor, Miguel Angel Blanco, in July. That killing brought millions of Spaniards out onto the streets in mass protests.
Police cordoned off the area of Irun where yesterday's killing took place, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.
Authorities said the latest murder in the Basque country appeared to be in retaliation for last week's jailing of 23 leaders of the ETA's political wing, Herri Batasuna.