Terra Lliure (TL) was a terrorist organization active in Spain from the 1970s until it publicly renounced terrorism in July 1991.  Terra Lliure, which means Free Land, was a separatist organization committed to the creation of an independent Catalonian state.  This theoretical country of Catalonia would be based on Marxist theory and would encompass the Spanish provinces of Catalonia and Valencia.   <P><br /><br />Terra Lliure's terrorist activities were principally small-scale bombing attacks on property.  TL frequently targeted foreign banks and corporations, but also attacked the diplomatic facilities of foreign countries such as the United States and Great Britain.  During Spanish dictator General Franco's reign, Catalan culture and language were suppressed.  Terra Lliure received some support from the Catalan people for its support of the Catalan culture.  Even after General Franco's dictatorship ended in 1975, TL continued its terrorist attacks.  The terrorist organization never garnered broad support from the Catalan people and by July 1991, it was clear to even the militant members of Terra Lliure that their terrorist campaign would not be successful in creating a Catalonian state.  The group's leaders published a statement that the group would cease its terrorist activities and would instead attempt to affect change through the political process.     <br />

Terra Lliure is no longer an active terrorist organization.

The Territorial Anti-Imperialist Nuclei (NTA) is a Marxist-Leninist organization based in northeastern Italy that is strongly anti-American and anti-NATO.  The group first appeared in Sacile in 1995 and in March 1999 launched an extended streak of small attacks known as "Red Spring."    NTA has been linked to numerous attacks on United States targets such as low-level bombings at Aviano Airbase in 1999 and attacks on cars belonging to American serviceman.  The group has also claimed responsibility for the high-profile assassinations of two Labor Ministry consultants, Professor Marco Biagi and Massimo D'Antona.  Many other Italian terrorist groups claimed responsibility for these assassinations, and it is suspected that there was a high level of cooperation between these groups.<br /><p><br />NTA has very strong links to the Red Brigades-Fighting Communist Party (BR-PCC), another major organization, and some suspect that the two groups have merged.  Though this is a minority view, it underscores the extensive cooperation between the two groups.  The group also has strong links to Proletarian Initiative Nuclei and Partisan Groups for Sabotage.  NTA's exact relationship with all these groups is unknown, but there is a high degree of overlap between the attacks claimed by these other groups and NTA, indicating that the NTA coordinates a lot of its actions with smaller organizations.<br /><p><br />NTA is one of the major terrorist organizations in Italy.  Its emergence has caused security services significant problems and in January 2005 Italian police began a crackdown on the group.  Only two NTA members, Razza Luca and Pigat Giannantonio, have been arrested.<br />