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Oct 03, 2023

La Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI): The Guardia Civil Special Intervention Unit

The Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI) (Special Intervention Unit) is one

The Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI) (Special Intervention Unit) is one police Tactical Unit (PTU) of the Guardia Civil (Civil Guard), the Spanish gendarmerie. Conceived as a single central elite unit, it specialises in high-risk operations and the fulfilment of its specific missions within or outside the national territory (source).

The UEI is a Tier 1 special forces unit, like the Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO) or Special Operations Group of the National Police Force. The other Guardia Civil elite unit is the Grupo de Acción Rápida (GAR) or Rapid Action Group.

The UEI motto is Celeritas et Subtilitas Patrio (Speed and Precision for the Homeland). Its coat of arms comprises a golden shield with a red-winged lion in the centre. Behind it, there is a sword and a Roman fasces crossed. Above the coat of arms is the Spanish royal crown. Below the shield is the name of the unit.

The unit's guidon comprises a red Cross of Burgundy with golden borders and the unit's coat of arms around each corner. All this rests on a dark green background, the colour of the Civil Guard.

They created the unit on 3 June 1978 under the name of the Grupo de Intervención Inmediata (Immediate Intervention Group). Its main goal was to combat terrorism and increasingly specialised and violent crime. On 3 February 1982, they restructured it as the Special Intervention Unit (source) and, in 1983, began its operational activity.

In 2001, they took part in meetings sponsored by the Belgian DSU (Directorate of Special Units) which led to the founding of the ATLAS group (source). The UEI is part of the ATLAS Network of European special police units, along with the GEO. This network includes 34 anti-terrorist units from 29 European countries. Their objective is the coordination and cooperation of anti-terrorist units to achieve the highest level in the fight against organised crime and terrorism (source).

Since its creation, the UEI has carried out over 375 operations. These operations have led to the release of 563 hostages and the arrest of 640 people, 141 of whom belonged to terrorist commandos (source).

Its first location was the premises of the DG of the Guardia Civil in C/Batalla del Salado in Madrid, passing through other premises, including Guadarrama. Its current location is the Colegio de Guardias Jóvenes "Duque de Ahumada", Valdemoro, Madrid (source).

Its mission is to intervene in criminal acts that require immediate and highly specialised action due to their danger and risk. The major cases of intervention are:

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They integrate the UEI into the Guardia Civil, a gendarmerie and reserve force. The Guardia Civil depends on the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. This is because despite not being organically part of the Spanish Armed Forces, it has a military nature. Therefore, its members are career military personnel and are entrusted with military missions (source).

The UEI is an independent unit within the Guardia Civil and is led by an active lieutenant colonel of said police.

The unit is organised as follows:

(Source), (source)

Before joining the UEI, candidates must pass very tough selection tests and, once in, they follow a demanding training programme (source). Candidates must undergo personal physical-technical aptitude evaluations. If the candidate fails, their assignment is terminated (source).

All members of this unit must be young people with excellent athletic conditions and perfect shape (source).

All those aspiring to join the UEI must undergo a week-long series of physical tests and examinations. However, many candidates come from the GAR and therefore have extensive experience in special operations.

The test ends with a personal interview.

(Source), (source)

If you are selected, the training course will start on the first Monday of September. This course is known as the "Course of Adaptation to the Tactics and Techniques of the UEI". It is an indispensable requirement to pass it (source).

This course lasts 6 months and the selection of the course takes place once a year during May. During these six months, the candidate will learn a series of techniques that will gradually increase in difficulty, including:

In the last part of the course, they train candidates in "Urban Combat". This is one of the most physically and mentally demanding tests. However, only 2.5% pass this part (source). During this phase, the instructors push candidates to the limit of exhaustion to test their endurance and capabilities.

After this, candidates have a daily training which starts at 08:00 hours and is divided into three parts:

If candidates are successful, they are given a period of induction before being assigned to the unit. Members of the UEI can, once inside the unit, take other courses of interest, such as Parachuting, Scuba Diving, Tedax, Information and VIP Protection, among others (source).

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Due to the characteristics of the UEI and the high need for you to be permanently available, all members of the unit are required to live within 12 km of Valdemoro. This is to ensure that in the event of an alert situation, they can reach the base of operations in less than half an hour. They must also be contactable 24 hours a day, except for ordinary leave days (source).

The UEI is equipped with modern equipment, mostly of European and American manufacture. This equipment follows NATO standards.

The uniformity of the agents depends on the nature of the operation.

In assault operations:

In-boarding operations:

In riot control operations:

– Riot control equipment.

(Source), (source)

Among other weapons, the UEI uses at least the following:

Guns

Submachine guns

Assault rifles

Battle rifles

Sniper rifles

The primary vehicles used during the Unit's interventions are well-capacity MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles).

(Source)

During the more than twenty-five years they have been active, they have carried out numerous operations, some of which are well known, while others remain anonymous. Most of its activity has been related, though not limited, to the anti-terrorist fight against the terrorist group ETA (source).

The most notable operations are the following:

The UEI's history demonstrates that it is a highly trained, effective and lethal elite police unit. Its training and arsenal make it a top unit of the Guardia Civil and among Spain's security forces and corps. Like its equivalent Special Operations Group (GEO) of the National Police, this unit is perfectly suited to carry out the most difficult operations. It is not surprising that senior police and military commanders consider them to be the most suitable for personality protection and anti-terrorist operations. Given the importance the Spanish government attaches to them, the UEI will remain an essential unit for the foreseeable future.

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