Declassified Docs Confirm 23-F Coup Captain's Andorra Refuge

Declassified Spanish government documents have confirmed that Gil Sánchez-Valiente, the Civil Guard captain known as the "man with the briefcase" from Spain's failed 23-F coup attempt, briefly sought refuge in Andorra during his escape abroad.

The files, released after 45 years, detail how Sánchez-Valiente—whose enigmatic role stemmed from a fellow plotter's claim of seeing him leave Congress with a small briefcase or suitcase, possibly containing compromising documents—fled following the coup's collapse on February 23, 1981. He consistently denied carrying any such material to London.

Intelligence reports from the era's Cesid (predecessor to the CNI) last spotted him in Madrid near Congress the morning of February 24. He then hid in Barcelona for about a month until a colleague betrayed him, prompting his border crossing into Andorra. From there, according to his own account, he continued to Germany, Argentina, Mexico, and Italy as part of efforts to evade Spanish authorities in the coup's immediate aftermath.

Sánchez-Valiente returned to Spain in 1987 from the United States. He received a two-year prison sentence for deserting his Civil Guard post but faced no conviction for direct involvement in the 23-F plot, with authorities never proving his role in the assault on Congress.