Suspected ETA member arrested in Brazil

Brazilian police on Friday confirmed the arrest of a suspected member of Basque separatist group ETA.

Joseba Gotzov Vizan Gonzalez was arrested in the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro as soon as an arrest warrant was issued by the Spanish National Court.

Vizan Gonzalez, 53, is wanted for questioning in connection to terrorist organization, taking part in terrorist attacks and murder. He has also been linked to a car bomb in 1988 which left a policemen seriously injured.

After leaving Spain he is thought to have lived in Mexico during the 1990s before moving to Brazil.

This arrest follows the arrest of two other suspected ETA members in France on Jan. 11 this year.

ETA announced a permanent ceasefire shortly before the Spanish general election in November 2011. However, they have yet to clarify plans to cease to exist or to surrender their arms.

Some 55 arrests of suspected ETA members were made in 2012, while a total of 81 suspects have been detained, mainly by Spanish and French security forces.

Last Saturday, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the Basque city of Bilbao demanding that ETA members currently being held in jails around Spain be moved to prisons inside the Basque Region. Endi