Spanish police have successfully dismantled a cell of the neo-Nazi group known as The Base, which has been designated a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the European Union, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This operation, carried out on Monday, follows an investigation that revealed a highly radicalized group engaged in paramilitary training and preparations for violent acts aimed at instigating a “race war.”
Authorities initiated the investigation earlier this year, uncovering a Spanish branch of The Base that had reportedly trained its members in various paramilitary techniques. Police indicated that the suspects had expressed intentions to commit violent acts, stating they were prepared for targeted attacks to advance their agenda. The leader of this cell was said to be in direct communication with Rinaldo Nazzaro, the group’s founder, who recently called for assaults intended to undermine Western democratic institutions.
During the operation, officers arrested three individuals, including the cell leader, who now faces charges of belonging to a terrorist organization, as well as for recruitment, indoctrination, and illegal possession of weapons. In the eastern province of Castellon, police seized firearms, ammunition, and neo-Nazi paraphernalia. A video released by the police depicted the arrests and the confiscation of weapons, along with literature featuring Adolf Hitler.
The Base, founded by Rinaldo Nazzaro in 2018, operates through a decentralized network designed to recruit radical right nationalists prepared for armed conflict. Nazzaro later relocated to Saint Petersburg and acquired Russian citizenship, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
In 2020, law enforcement in the United States apprehended former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Jordan Mathews and two others associated with The Base, who were allegedly plotting a terrorist attack at a pro-gun rally in Virginia. Mathews was sentenced to nine years in prison in Maryland in 2021.
The European Union officially added The Base to its terrorist list in 2022, implementing sanctions that included travel bans and asset freezes across Europe. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the group as an antisemitic, white nationalist network that trains its members in survival and paramilitary skills, aiming to prepare them for an armed uprising against governmental authorities.
According to the SPLC, The Base is composed of small, terroristic cells that believe societal collapse is necessary to establish a white ethnostate. The recent police action in Spain highlights ongoing efforts to combat the growing threat of extremist organizations in Europe and beyond.
