Homenaje a los héroes del año en Madrid

“This is therefore the home of Ignacio Echeverría and all the people who, like him, make this a better world, worth fighting for, starting over and dreaming big,” emphasized the president, highlighting this young man as “anonymous, brave, and good” whose example should not be lost. “Let neither terror nor individualism extinguish us all and turn us into a society that was never cowardly or selfish as they now want us to be,” she added.

One of his skateboards will be permanently exhibited at the future Interactive Center for the Memory of Terrorism Victims in the capital. Joaquín Echeverría, Ignacio’s father, donated it this May to the Community of Madrid for this future memory space, where the battery of Miguel Ángel Blanco, a councilor murdered by ETA in 1997, will also be preserved.

In this first edition of the awards, the generosity of fifteen people has been acknowledged in five different categories: Defense against terrorism; Courage in the line of duty; Family, dedication, and love; Heroic youth; and Historical relevance. All of them have received a medal as a token of gratitude.

The other recipients of the Hero of the Year Awards have been, in the Defense category, José Ignacio Ustarán, kidnapped and murdered by ETA in 1980; Miguel Ángel Franco, who saved 12 people in Mali during a terrorist attack in 2017, and the mosso d’esquadra who took down four of the terrorists who attacked the Catalan town of Cambrils in 2017.

Likewise, the Ignacio Echeverría Association has recognized the Civil Guard Antonio Molina; soldier Josué Lozano, and Miguel Ángel González and David Pérez, also officers of the Civil Guard, in the Courage in the line of duty section. In the Family, dedication, and love category, recognition has been given to activist for people with ALS Jordi Sabaté; the Travesedo Fernández de Casadevante family, and the volunteers of DANA in Valencia.

In the Heroic youth category, this organization has awarded Elena Tejada, who at 22 infiltrated the terrorist group ETA and whose work was crucial for the dismantling of the Donosti Command in 1999; Juan Alberto González, who died in the attack on the Bataclan in Paris, and Íñigo Gómez-Jordana, coordinator of rescues during the storm Filomena in the capital.

Lastly, in the Historical relevance section, the memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco has been honored, as well as notable events such as the Battle of Pavia and the landing of Alhucemas.

Regional Government aid for terrorism victims

By the end of the year, the Regional Government will have allocated over 90 million euros in aid to terrorism victims since the approval, in 2019, of the Law for their Protection, Recognition, and Memory. Additionally, last month, the modification of this law was published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) so that beneficiaries receive an additional 30% in compensation.