Billy the Kid
Torturers live among us. Nothing surprising in that statement, I imagine. However, if those torturers of men and women were not in some faraway land, but here in Spain, how would you feel then? Probably not as bad as their victims, who have to share the same streets with those who subjected them to all sorts of humiliations and pain simply because they held different political opinions.
Perhaps the most notorious of Franco's henchmen who is still alive and living a normal life in this country is Antonio González Pacheco, alias Billy el Niño (Billy the Kid). Last Friday, TV reporters from La Sexta channel caught up with Billy as he left his home in an affluent Madrid suburb. For the first time, they were able to capture on film the man they describe as 'the symbol of torture from the final years of the Franco regime'.
Antonio González Pacheco was brought up in a humble home in Extremadura, near the Portuguese border. After joining the police force, he was transferred to Franco's political police, where he rose to be the number two in Madrid. It was there that the nickname Billy el Niño was created, from his habit of treating prisoners as if they were in the Wild West. There are numerous accounts of his alleged activities inside and outside the cells. After the death of Franco, he remained in the police force for seven years, until he left in 1982 to lead his own private security firm.
One of the talents of Billy el Niño since the arrival of democracy in Spain has been to remain hidden and anonymous. Now a pensioner - and a granddad, aged 68 - his objective has been to fly below the radar and enjoy his retirement in peace.
However, his cover was spectacularly blown on national television last Friday night. Journalists from the Sexta Columna had discovered his address and were lying in wait for him.
In the studio was one of his victims, Luis Pérez, who was tortured by Franco's secret police in 1967. Luis alleged that Billy was a sadist who enjoyed torturing. He had been held by his ankles and dangled from a window at the police station - just part of the treatment he was subjected to.
Luis looked on as Billy was pursued by a journalist and cameraman. As Billy hurried down the street, questions were hurled at this slender, elderly man - short in stature and dressed in a smart blue jacket and trousers.
Was he sorry for what he'd done? Did he have a message for his victims? Was he going to apologise to them?
Billy el Niño, unmasked and visibly agitated, was harried as he tried to get away. Not surprisingly, there were no answers to the reporter's questions. Ironically, at one point he even approached a policeman, before he managed to hail a taxi and escape the grilling.
Back in studio, the camera had been panning to the face of his victim, Luis. It was the first time he'd seen his torturer in 48 years. Both during the pursuit and in the interview afterwards, he showed incredible dignity and restraint. The only time he became visibly upset was when an extract was shown of the daughter of a victim of Franco's secret police. Her father was taken away for questioning and was never seen by his family again.
Luis was asked to comment on the 'interview' with Billy el Niño. What had he felt when he saw him again? Luis said he had enjoyed seeing the man run. He had enjoyed seeing this man, who had so much to hide, facing questions over what he had done.
Because, although there are many people still alive in Spain who claim they were tortured by Billy el Niño, he will never stand trial over these accusations. In 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued by Argentine judge María Servini for him and four other members of Franco's secret police, still alive and living in Spain. The warrant stated that they were wanted in connection with allegations of torture against 13 opponents of the Franco regime between 1971 and 1975. Billy el Niño even had his passport taken away by the Supreme Court in Madrid as they processed the warrant. However, last year the judges ruled that Billy could not be extradited and put on trial because the crimes he was accused of had 'expired many years ago'.
So Billy el Niño will never have to answer to the courts for his alleged crimes. His victims will never get satisfaction from the judicial system in Spain. But, at least - thanks to the work of a team of journalists - they were able to see fear in his eyes.
According to El Mundo newspaper, Billy once told a journalist who had taken a photograph of him many years ago that 'his only form of defence was to remain anonymous'. That camera film was confiscated.
But, last Friday, Billy was exposed to the nation. They saw a cowardly figure, afraid to answer questions - a man who preferred to run away, rather than face his past.