those of Netflix Spanish the series “Bank Under Siege” tells the surprising events taking place at the Central Bank of Barcelona after a group of thieves entered the financial establishment. The group is holding approximately three hundred individuals hostage inside the building while awaiting the release of four policy prisoners. Like the police drama As the series progresses, it is revealed that the gang’s request is nothing more than a trick to distract the authorities while they drill a hole in the bank to escape. Barcelonathe sewer system. In reality, the thieves’ attempt to flee the scene with around seven hundred million pesetas encountered obstacles that they could not really overcome! SPOILERS AHEAD.

José Juan Martínez Gómez and his gang failed to break through the granite wall of the Central Bank

There are several stories about thieves’ motivations and action plan. Although the authorities concluded that burglary was orchestrated by targeting money stored in the Central Bank of Barcelona, ​​José Juan Martínez Gómez, the leader of the thieves, had claimed that the head of CESID, Emilio Alonso Manglano, was the mastermind behind the crime, which was arranged to obtain a confidential document, concerning the failed 1981 coup attempt, from the bank. Manglano promised José a plane to escape the country after the heist according to this unverified or alleged plan. However, according to the leader of the robbers, he became suspicious of this arrangement, which led him to come up with another plan to escape from the bank.

José and his accomplices began to drill a hole in one of the walls of the Central Bank. According to some reports, they even enlisted the help of a few hostages to do this. The thieves hoped to escape the facility through Barcelona’s sewers, but they came across granite rocks beyond the wall. This shocking revelation convinced the gang that there was no way they could disappear from the bank. In recent years, José has claimed that the entire operation was a trap set by Manglano and his allies. In an interview with Barcelona-based RAC1 radio, he claimed that the real organizers of the heist wanted the thieves dead because they wanted to eliminate any witnesses to their involvement.

Theft ended with the intervention of special operations forces

As José Juan Martínez Gómez and his accomplices realized that there was no way to escape the Central Bank, the agents of the police the Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO) tactical unit arrived on site to intervene. The flight lasted for more than thirty hours, punctuated by negotiations with the authorities. The leader of the robbers even later claimed to have spoken to Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, the president of the government, during this period. Over the years, several stories have surfaced regarding the final hours of the heist, which are not addressed by “Bank Under Siege.”

One of these stories tells how José and other thieves carried five hundred million pesetas from the safe to the main courtyard to threaten to burn them. The situation worsened the next day, May 24, when one of the agents killed a thief seen on the terrace of the Central Bank with a hostage. The death of José María Cuevas Jiménez, 34, was followed by a shooting that lasted more than two hours. Meanwhile, the hostages break down the main door of the establishment to escape the robbers. It is interesting to note that the gang of criminals joined these hostages, pretending to be part of them.

The police then arrested nine robbers, including José, marking the end of the heist. Although the conclusion of this predicament was a victory for the authorities, one of the thieves managed to escape the scene. Over the years, GEO reportedly claimed that its agents kicked the thieves out of the bank, an account José disputed. In the same interview with RAC1, he claimed that the criminals, including himself, had left the establishment for fear of death. According to his accounts, the GEO entered the bank only after leaving the building with his accomplices.

The arrested thieves were found guilty and sentenced to prison

After the thieves were arrested, authorities tried to discover the motive for the robbery. José Juan Martínez Gómez initially claimed that a right-wing extremist named Antonio Luis had given him the mission to rob the Central Bank. He eventually changed his account to say the theft was financially motivated. Luis’ involvement has not been proven. Ultimately, authorities and agencies involved in the case came to a consensus that the heist was orchestrated to loot money from the bank’s vault. The arrested thieves were tried by the Third Criminal Chamber of the National Court.

In June 1983, José, Tomás Paz Trenado, Miguel Millán Gros and Alberto Ots Jiménez were sentenced to thirty-eight years in prison. prison for committing theft with violence and intimidation of people, with the aggravating circumstances of disguise. Their other charges include the mass crime of illegal possession and illegal possession of firearms. Cristóbal and Jorge Valenzuela Marcos, Juan Manuel Quesada Jihaja and Francisco Martín received multiple sentences ranging from one year to twenty-three years in prison. Although these were heavy sentences, the maximum prison sentence was thirty years due to Article 70 of the Spanish Penal Code. Details regarding the sentences handed down to Máximo Olivar Tirado are not available.

Following their respective convictions, the robbers disappeared from the spotlight, with the exception of José. He was granted special permits allowing him to temporarily leave prison in 1988 and 1996. In both cases, he escaped authorities without returning to his respective prison after his parole ended. He was arrested and imprisoned again during these two years. His mandate ended definitively in January 2016. While José remains an infamous figure in Spain with his allegations against Emilio Alonso Manglano, the fate of his accomplices remains a mystery. It is unclear how many of them are still alive today and learning that the crime they committed continues to be a highly controversial part of Spanish political discourse.

Learn more: Bank under siege: Are Maider Garmendia and Bernardo “Berni” García based on real journalists?