He May 23, 1981when Spain was still recovering from the tension experienced exactly three months earlier, on February 23, nervousness once again invaded the country.
At 9:10 a.m. that Saturday, eleven men broke into the Central Bank of Barcelona, with the aim of taking all the money they could from there, but with a request that set off alarm bells: that they release some of the high-ranking officials. military and Civil Guard positions, among them Lieutenant Colonel Tejeroinvolved in the attempted Coup d’état.
At the head of that group of criminals was ‘El Rubio’, whose real name was José Juan Martínez Gómez. According to him, the purpose of the operation was to obtain documents related to 23F, which were supposedly kept in a safe deposit box inside the bank and which implicated relevant figures.
An extreme that never found foundation and has, in fact, been refuted on various occasions, among them in the manuscripts of Lieutenant General Emilio Alonso Manglano – a relevant position at the time who had been appointed director of the Cesid for his commitment to democracy. – revealed in the book ‘The Spy Chief’ by ABC journalists Juan Fernández-Miranda and Javier Chicote.
Now the story of ‘El Rubio’ has been brought to fiction by Netflix, which allows itself various licenses to tell that attempted robbery, but which has managed, thanks to its success, present an episode in the history of Spain that is sometimes forgotten.
In ‘Assault on the Central Bank’, it is Miguel Herrán who steps into the shoes of José Juan Martínez, who after the assault ended up in prison but whose criminal resume did not find an end in this way.
Sentenced to 30 years in prison
Martínez was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which he began to serve in different Spanish prisons. However, his prison life was marked by several escapes that increased his notoriety.
Escape from Ocaña (1988): During a prison leave, Martínez escaped from the Ocaña prison. He was recaptured a month later in a confrontation that resulted in the death of two police officers (by another officer) and left Martínez seriously injured.
Christmas Escape (1996): While serving his sentence in Castellón, he requested leave for the Christmas holidays, but did not return. He was arrested a month later by agents in Barcelona.
His life after serving time
In 2016, Martínez regained his definitive freedom after serving his sentence. Since then he has lived in Guipúzcoa, where he has had to deal with other run-ins with the law for minor crimes and attempted robberies.
In recent interviews, he stated that he feels watched by his fame, although he insists that he is now “a free citizen”. Additionally, he has dealt with health problems stemming from his years in prison, including chronic bronchitis and a hernia.
Martínez has defended his version of events, ensuring that the robbery was not a simple attempt at enrichment. Although His figure has been widely discussed in documentaries and writings, he insists that his story is more complex than has been publicly presented. It is not in vain that these theories are explored in the series, blaming, among others, Manglano, an extreme that has been widely denied.
Nowadays, ‘El Rubio’ leads a quiet life, although His name is still linked to his criminal past. which gave him a certain fame in the Quinqui era, in that Spain that was beginning to fly into democracy.
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