Guardia Civil. (Capitals: Madrid).(Spanish security force)(Brief Article)

Fighting terrorism is nothing new to the Spanish security force, which, over the past three decades, has battled violent independence-minded Basques, armed radical leftists, and the odd band of unrepentant extreme right-wingers who still pine for the return of the days of Francisco Franco.

These tasks have fallen mostly to the Guardia Civil or civil guard, a militarized police force created in the nineteenth century and famous for their curious three-cornered, patent leather hats. Nowadays the agents are a combination of county sheriff, state trooper, customs officer,