Juan María de Araluce Villar, a native of Santurtzi,[2] had fought as a pilot with the Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War.
In the post war period, he worked as a notary until 1967 when he became a member of the Cortes Españolas, the Spanish "parliament" under the Franco regime.
At between 13:20 and 13:25, Araluce's driver was waiting outside his home on Avenida de España,[3] accompanied by a second vehicle carrying an escort of three police officers.
[4] The killers then escaped in a car, which was found abandoned later the same day in the Loyola district of the city, bearing false number plates.
[1] The assassination received almost universal condemnation from the main Spanish political parties, while the Cortes adjourned for a day as a mark of respect for Araluce.