Spain's Elite Police: Beyond Limits (2021) s01e04 Episode Script
Sacrifice
1
Hey, I'm in Atocha. There was
a bomb attack on a train and we
On March 11, 2004, Spain suffers
the first islamist attack in Europe
The first person to tell me was my wife.
She said, "There's been one
or more major attacks in Madrid,
"and we don't know who it is
or what's going on."
It was a feeling
of anxiety and helplessness,
of disbelief of what was going on.
You were watching it on TV,
but you're not
a bank employee, or a teacher.
You're part of the unit
that has to stop these people.
And I remember I told Yolanda,
"We have to stop these people,
no matter what.
"I have to stop them, no matter what."
G.E.O.
BEYOND LIMITS
EPISODE 4
SACRIFICE
The class has been isolated
from the pandemic in Trillo for 6 days.
They will remain indefinitely
in the G.E.O. training camp.
Come on! Are you going to give up now?
Come on!
No one stops until I say so!
Come on, we're nearly there!
The most enjoyable journeys
are the most unpredictable.
POLICEMAN ALCÁNTARA
Break that blockage
that's there in your head,
that desire of having everything
under control, and
let it flow.
The fact that things happen unpredictably
means that you can't prepare for them,
that you cannot train for them.
Therefore, the response that comes out
is an instinctive response.
What's more beautiful
than giving your life for other people?
Or at least putting it on the line?
If you feel that you have that in you
and that you can give it,
why not put yourself on the front lines
to be able to help and to prevent
other people from dying?
POLICEMAN SÁNCHEZ DEL ARCO
Why not?
I don't fear death.
I have as much respect for it
as you can have for a difficult situation,
But fear doesn't let you live.
You can't get anywhere with fear.
I'm here, I'm punching
and I'm moving inside.
Okay? You have to make an opening.
In you go.
Tyson used to say,
"I don't hit here, I hit here."
Well, this is the same.
I don't go in here, I go in here.
Right inside.
Don't stick your head out that far,
Acha, otherwise this will happen to you.
Does this hand have to be controlled here?
If you can. If not, you have to
tuck your neck in, chin in tight,
so there's no gap. I'll show you.
There can't be any kind of gap.
And the center of gravity
has to be on top of me.
You need to feel it there.
-What am I doing?
-Shit, my back.
-I clenched my fist.
-Yes.
-My fist is clenched.
-Underneath, yes.
-What do you do? You're screwed.
-I'm screwed.
I've got your arm, your fist.
And you're gone.
You're gone.
There it is!
In this exercise,
as I've told some of you,
is one of the most important to me
because it gives us courage
and makes us even more effective
and more and more immersed
in the G.E.O. philosophy.
Between now and the end of this course,
I don't want to see moans, complaints
and low enthusiasm and missed kicks
and hoping for it to end,
watching the time or looking at the sun
to see if the day is over.
I demand enthusiasm.
And I recommend enthusiasm,
because without enthusiasm you are sunk.
Since we resumed the course,
every day is Monday.
-Is this finished?
-Yes.
Uncertainty is going to be part
of whoever stays in this unit
for the rest of his life, quote unquote,
because tomorrow he'll be at home
and someone will call and say,
"We need you to come to this,"
or, "We need you to come to that."
And it won't matter if it's Monday
or Monday or Monday.
So, no problem.
My weak point may be family.
I'm a very family-oriented person.
POLICE OFFICER TIZÓN
I think about it a lot.
But that's not going
to make me lose motivation.
My daughter's birthday is coming up.
It's her third birthday, and
I'll be spending it here.
So, days like that are really bad.
And they say, "Here, give it to them."
And she goes, "Just me, Mom.
Not you. Out, over there. Away."
What a pity.
-Why?
-Because I'm missing so much.
-Okay, honey.
-She's behaving really well.
-I love you.
-Okay, sweetheart.
-Bye, my love. We miss you.
-I miss you very much.
Guys, I thought of a song for Sasha.
What have you got?
-Is it finished?
-Yes. It's simple, but still
It goes
How we love an early rise
And with Sasha exercise
All the course, every day
For Sasha I'd give my life away
-It's awesome, man.
-Good, right?
It's perfect.
It's explaining
everything we do every day.
Get up early, train and exhaust ourselves.
We're going to start
with some grown-up stuff now.
With Operational Action Techniques
for when we go to any G.E.O. deployment.
What you see today
will stay with you for life.
A continuous lifelong learning.
The target can be a van,
it can be a house,
it can be a cocaine lab
I don't care what it is.
The great secret of tactical units
is operational planning.
Always understanding the G.E.O.
as it has to be, a cog in the wheel.
What we want to see today,
fundamentally, is how to deal
with a corridor and a room.
We are looking for people in hiding
or people who are looking
for an armed confrontation.
The corridor is,
if we could paint it maroon,
the death zone. It's the danger zone.
Never put a lot of people in a hallway.
Mejías and Legi are completely pairing up.
You don't have to be like that to pair up.
I'm exaggerating things so you can learn,
but sometimes it happens.
Legi, from your position, can you see
all the rooms, all the openings,
-and down the hall?
-Yes.
Perfect. Can you target all of them
with your aim point?
-Yes.
-Perfect.
I understand my partner perfectly.
For Mejías and I, sometimes
it's enough to look at each other.
But that will happen with time.
It is essential. This is like a dance.
That's the beauty of it all,
in the end it's tactical poetry.
We're not two people
just coinciding in space-time.
We are a G.E.O. duo.
Mentally prepare and talk about this.
We are going to change your DNA.
You will think like this
and you will function as pairs.
Okay, next pair.
What we have to simulate
is that our partner who goes in
goes in alone,
but he goes in with four eyes.
It is as if I enter alone,
I do not have a partner,
and I have two other eyes here
when I go in.
That is what is simulated by my partner.
Impossible.
It's impossible for me to hit you.
You see? That's how you have to do it,
but observing.
That's four steps.
Wall.
Big steps.
Looking for the target.
He's a machine, man.
This guy is a machine.
Easy. Take it easy.
The winner here is whoever stays calm.
He came out from there,
but I'm from the Special Group
of Operations.
Do you know what the "S" stands for?
Special.
I'm paid to hold position here.
Not to go out there and get shot,
with my partner
nervously tugging on my back.
I've won the position.
If I'm alive, I hold position here.
And let him come back out if he wants to.
Everybody!
I want to see tense faces at all times!
This is not a game, gentlemen!
People's lives depend on tension
and how you handle it!
Is this the reaction
of a G.E.O. operative?
How many are we going to let them kill?
We are not playing!
Even if it seems so,
even if I'm very unpleasant,
and I know I'm very unpleasant,
what I'm trying to do is to make sure
that nothing happens to you tomorrow.
That is my key motivation
as director of this course.
-To you and to everybody.
-Yes, sir.
Let's do it again.
They are going to face criminals
of the most aggressive kind
you can imagine.
People with means, too, armed people.
Or people who simply have nothing to lose.
That moment of going into that room
to face the target with 100% certainty
may be one of the most
dangerous situations there is.
If you can't handle
the pressure of me behind you,
I won't even mention when there's
a jihadist commando ready to shoot at you.
Is it hot?
It's hot. You could make tea with it.
Leave me some water, please.
-Are your feet overheating?
-Yes.
Mine are worse than any other day.
-Is this your belt?
-Yes.
If you find a pair of dry pants,
they're mine too.
Can you imagine?
Showing up tomorrow like that?
We're in a good mood
when we have our free time.
If we didn't put
that little bit of humor into things
this would be like hell.
If you're in jail and you're afraid
In the end, what we're going to take
with us are those moments of relaxation
when it feels like
you're not among colleagues,
but among friends or buddies.
-I have leftovers from yesterday's meal.
-Me too.
The sponge cake and everything.
-You have the cake?
-Yeah. We'll split it later.
The sponge cake for breakfast tomorrow
would be great.
But we have dessert in the morning anyway.
-I mean, breakfast, pastries.
-Right.
But now, for dinner
Will it be the same thing again, man?
Meatballs with
I hope not.
I've had enough
of chickpeas and meatballs.
I'm sick of the meatballs,
but even more of the chickpeas.
I'm very close to Óscar.
We're in the same unit
and we had already met at the camp.
I'm lucky to have him with me.
I've been a police officer
for 13 years, since 2007.
I try to help,
I try to get to the places to help.
But sometimes you can't help,
sometimes they don't let you help,
sometimes you can fix it, and sometimes,
many other times, you can't fix anything.
I've seen it all.
I've seen it all. Everything.
And you push it down deep inside, and,
eventually, it makes your head explode.
-Class!
-Thirty!
-Long live Spain!
-Hurrah!
-Long live the G.E.O.!
-Hurrah!
-How we love an early rise!
-How we love an early rise!
-And with Sasha exercise!
-And with Sasha exercise!
-All the course, every day!
-All the course, every day!
-For Sasha I'd give my life away!
-For Sasha I'd give my life away!
-But whether I die or live!
-But whether I die or live!
-Someday I'll be an operative!
-Someday I'll be an operative!
When I was in the academy in Ávila,
one of the big problems of Spanish society
was the terrorist group ETA.
I've always liked
demanding and challenging tasks,
and one of the greatest challenges
for a national police officer back then
was the fight against terrorism.
I started the fight in the first group
of Intelligence in the Basque Country,
in San Sebastián, in 1995.
My job at that time, mainly,
was tracking, surveillance
and helping with the collection
of all possible information
that would result in the arrest
of any terrorist group members.
The attacks were continuous.
They started killing soldiers,
policemen and civil guards,
ending up with judges, politicians
Not to mention the collateral damage
to children, women,
completely innocent people,
as if everyone was guilty
of all their madness.
Sometimes, it seems that we have to face
these very serious situations
to realize that everything you do,
all the sacrifice,
all the lectures that we give here
They serve a purpose.
It's so that you can face those situations
with competence when they come.
So that the situation
doesn't get the better of you
and you are able to deal with it.
Come on! Let's go!
Three! Leg up. Four! Down.
I don't want to be caught in his legs.
So I attack here.
Look at the leg. Look.
I'm just floating. Flying.
No effort. You are very strong,
I know, but be technical.
Come on, get out of there. Fight him!
Don't give up, fight him!
Get your hips out. Don't give up!
That's the way to do it.
-It's tough!
-It's G.E.O.!
Class, attention.
Now.
Tizón, why are we at attention
if there are people fixing their gear?
At ease, now.
Push-up position everyone except those
who have to put on some of their gear.
The next time you order attention,
it's because everybody is ready
to be at attention.
Carry on, Ojeda, take it easy, don't rush.
Thank you, Ojeda,
for not knowing how we organize our gear.
We've been over this. This is a unit.
If somebody is not ready,
if we don't have our equipment ready,
we can't function as a unit.
Hold position, gentlemen!
Until Ojeda is here with his equipment,
you will remain in this position.
On your feet!
-Ready?
-Yes.
-Anything to update, Tizón?
-Sir, no news.
The word "leader" is not something that
It makes me a little nervous.
I don't know why.
I always say I'm the representative.
That's how I feel.
More than knowing what a boss is,
you have to try to be like our boss.
That's how I'd like to be. Like Pelayo.
Ready to start?
This is the police.
Come out with your hands up.
Slowly, to where we can see you.
Clear.
Where are you going?
I told you once clearly
that no one takes a fucking step forward
without my authorization.
Alcántara, are you meeting someone?
Are you in a hurry?
-No, Instructor.
-If they were shooting from the inside
and this wasn't a game to you,
would you walk by as you just did?
-No, Instructor.
-So why did you do it?
To offend me? To piss me off?
When they made me team leader,
my head exploded a little bit.
Because from the point of view of
someone like me, maybe a little rigid,
I started to mentally arrange
the pros, cons,
what could be good, what could be bad
Because I understand that these people,
the instructors,
they don't do anything randomly.
Continue. Wan, shrimp and bridge.
There are no more secrets.
My perception is
that I am bringing out the wolf in me.
Could I bring it out more? I don't know.
But I'm sure that if I have
to bring it out at some point
and I haven't brought it out,
I will bring it out.
But so far, I think
I just can't
I mean, I am always giving 120%.
In no situation have I stood still
and haven't given 200%.
I always try to give 200%.
Or at least that's my perception.
That's judo. It's moving. Judo is sliding.
The way of flexibility, judo.
I pay for this on the street.
I'm just trying to do it
to the best of my ability.
I understand that they appointed me
as team leader for a reason,
something they're watching, evaluating,
and I'll try to do it the best I can.
We salute our comrade as a sign of respect
to the one who has taught us
and today made us participants
in a 1,000-year-old struggle.
Salute your partner!
And if you have to be on the ground
with a person who is eight inches taller
and 50 pounds heavier than you,
then you have to fight hard
and claw it out.
Even if you lose all the matches,
you have given your all.
In that and in everything we do.
Here, in the water, all the mental issues
that each one of us has come out.
We are actually
competing against ourselves.
Everyone is competing against himself.
It's not really a competition between us.
I think we should think more
about working together
than looking
at each other's self-interests.
There is nothing individual here.
He's having some kind of anxiety attack.
Does anyone want to leave? Julián?
No.
Shall we continue?
We are in a competition.
They're going to get passed. Twice.
On the double! This is competition.
I don't like to lose.
Not even at tiddlywinks.
But I'm not going to do anyone any harm
so they lose. Far from it.
On the contrary,
I will do everything I can to win.
This shows the tactical
and mental differences that exist.
It's not a matter of which team
is physically stronger. Not at all.
It's all about brains, the mind.
Fifth lap. We finish with the water.
Straight up to Torronteras.
Come on, team, very well done.
Capo to Guille.
Team Bravo has just reached the top.
-Bravo reached the top. Congratulations.
-Way to go, Bravo.
All right, guys!
-Good job.
-Yes!
Well done, guys.
About time.
We were able
to redress the situation a little bit.
Take his hand.
The whole course is about awareness.
We also teach them a few techniques,
a few tactics and that's it.
The course is awareness, nothing more.
Of course you're not immortal,
but you have to believe that
in the operations you go to.
That you will face them
and come out unharmed.
You are almost a super-operative.
You have to leave with that feeling.
When you finish this training,
you have to believe in yourself.
Come on. You're all the best.
Good job, Juli.
Hey!
What are you doing?
Holy cow, you're all dressed up.
-I've already had dinner.
-What did you have?
I had that vegetarian combat menu.
I had a bag of pasta
with vegetarian meatballs for dinner.
I'll tell you what.
When you're done there,
you can go on Survivor
and you'll win it for being so handsome.
Either you go on Survivor
or on a dating show.
-Okay, Mom. Okay.
-You're so handsome.
You're so handsome.
Come here.
Let's say hello to your father.
-Look. Alvarito and Diego.
-Hi!
-How are you?
-Hi! How are you?
-We're fine.
-How's it going?
On vacation here in Trillo.
-All expenses paid.
-Free of charge.
-Excellent.
-Of course.
-Right.
-Great.
Anyway, nice meeting you.
-Okay.
-Best regards.
That was Álvaro.
Anyway, I'm going to leave you
because I have to clean up a little.
-Okay. You look great.
-Yeah.
-Be strong.
-Best of luck. Be strong!
-All right. Take care.
-We love you very much.
-Okay. Bye.
-Our hero.
-Bye.
-Take care.
Let's clean up.
We have been told
that someone is holed up there,
a member of an organized armed gang,
he is high on cocaine
and has a gun and may shoot at us.
Openings, go ahead.
Head for the corridor.
As a police officer, I have not been
in any high-risk situations
where weapons of any kind were involved.
This is the police speaking.
The danger is there.
It will always be there.
But in the end,
I believe that having a work discipline,
correct training and decisiveness,
it doesn't have to go bad.
Hands where we can see them.
Let's talk calmly.
You have to focus
and know what you're getting into.
You have to know what's at stake.
Your life and the life
of your colleagues is at stake.
On the ground! Get on the ground!
Drop the gun!
Even if they are exercises,
you have to be aware
that this whole "charade"
could be true tomorrow.
So you have to focus,
you have to put everything into it.
You have to be aware that there's a guy
in here with a shotgun, firing shots.
Or a guy who's walked into a room and says
he's going to blow up the building.
So we advance cautiously
until we get to the room he's in.
This is what we are doing,
reporting what we see,
advancing little by little,
clearing all the rooms,
until we get
to the target point and enter.
Let's move out and rotate.
Man, it's Monday already, damn it.
We could have an evening where we could
watch a movie or something to relax.
Shut up. Don't give them
any ideas about movies.
Wouldn't you rather have that than another
damn class getting all sweaty again?
-Let them play us Europa again.
-It tires me out.
I think I'd like watching Europa
on a normal day, at home.
-I'm going to elbow you in the mouth.
-Just to know what it was about.
You can just read the synopsis, then.
I've lost count.
About 19,
18 or 19 Mondays in a row.
One Monday after another.
And until we leave.
Monday, Monday, Monday.
Happy birthday, dear Julián
Happy birthday to you!
You bastards! Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
You're my second family, you assholes.
-Want to sing Sasha's song?
-Go on.
-How we love an early rise
-How we love an early rise
-And with Sasha exercise
-And with Sasha exercise
-Class!
-Thirty!
-Long live Spain!
-Hurrah!
-Long live the G.E.O.!
-Hurrah!
Time stands still here.
You have to get into that area
of "time standing still."
This is sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.
And the rest of your life
is going to be sacrifice.
You're always going to have to learn.
That's the reason for "Monday."
Because you're always
at the point of departure.
The main people I would like to go
and have a beer with
or enjoy a peaceful terrace
would be the people I am here with.
Because nobody else
is going to understand,
the way we understand, what it means
to sit in a quiet bar, watch people go by,
have a beer or two, chat for a while
The feeling is going to be amazing
because only those four or five of us know
how bad we have had it
and how much we are going to enjoy
this small thing of sitting in a chair
and having a quiet beer.
We have an operation underway.
It's called Ursa Minor.
We have a car, a blue Toyota Land Cruiser,
loaded with explosives,
waiting for a call sign, a jihadist,
to come and pick it up.
The number of targets
we have in the house is unknown.
We will seal off the house.
And the objective of when we launch
the final assault on this house
is that no one escapes from the place.
Questions?
Those of us chosen for glory
will get to work now.
Every day that goes by
we tell them what they're getting into.
You are joining an elite unit.
We're playing for real.
This is where they really shoot
and really try to hurt you.
Zero risk does not exist in these units.
You are not exempt from the possibility
of something bad happening to you.
But of course, the training
gives you that confidence
of knowing what you have to do.
Descend, descend.
Charlie one, two and five are in position.
Headquarters, we want to know
if you see any lights on in the house.
Affirmative.
Everyone, mask protocol, mask protocol.
All units, all units. Initiate.
Carry on. Assault.
Okay. Stop. Look over there.
Don't look at me, look over there.
What is pair one doing
with their firearm pointing upwards?
Aim forward!
Aim forward, not at the ceiling.
To all team members. We are going
to deploy gas, we are going to deploy gas.
Get ready.
Give it up!
Keep talking to the target from there.
Keep talking, don't move forward.
-Freeze! Police!
-Don't go get him!
Don't go after him, let him come!
Get him out.
What are you doing there by yourself?
Since when do we let
a fellow team member go forward alone?
Don't open your eyes.
Lift your head a little. There.
End of exercise. We're leaving the area.
We're leaving the area.
This never happened.
Everyone over here, take off your masks.
We never leave a partner alone
when we go into a house
where we are being fired upon.
We work together, all at the same time.
We've been over this, gentlemen.
Since when do we go after a target,
an incoming suspect?
We're not assaulting.
If a target is coming out,
we say, "Come, towards me."
I don't advance into the area.
I don't advance to arrest a target
in an area that's not covered
and leaves me in danger.
Am I well covered?
Are they coming towards me?
Did I throw gas?
What's the normal thing to do?
"Come!" He'll come. If he's already out,
he's already on the move. Let him come.
I don't move towards a dangerous area.
It's not a scolding,
it's a story for you to
This time it's a joke. Nothing happened.
The bad guy was very nice.
But tomorrow, you'll have a big problem.
We're not playing, we're learning,
so that tomorrow, when this happens to us,
we'll be effective and won't get killed!
That's what this is about.
Shit, it smells like gunpowder.
23 days after the 2004
Madrid train bombings,
the terrorists,
surrounded by the G.E.O.,
blow themselves up
just before being arrested
After-effects, considering everything
that could have happened, are minimal.
I don't have too many visible ones.
I have very few, but I do have some.
But I suppose that everyone faces
these situations in a different way.
In my case, what became
totally clear to me is that
in life you have to know
what is important and what is not.
And that plans are made in the short term.
You cannot live worrying
about what you're going to do next year.
That stuck with me
because life plays games with you.
It takes you and discards
you when it wants to. On a whim.
And it taught me to deal
with the more immediate things,
without medium terms.
I'm just thinking about Javier.
I don't know.
Very few days in my life have passed,
since that fateful evening,
that his image hasn't come to mind.
And that means that he's still here.
And that's nice.
In many of my teammates' lockers, in mine,
in the gym, there's a picture of him.
That means he's still here.
Those who don't know him know he exists.
They know who he was and what he did.
That means he's still here.
It's as if he never left.
He was exceptional.
The embodiment of what we are.
I remember it like it could happen again
or something even more serious.
And we have to always keep in mind
that what he did, we are all capable
of repeating it again. Of being there.
At the stage of the course we are at,
I think everyone is wondering
whether they are worthy or not.
It is a chain
that is connected by many links,
so everything has to mesh perfectly.
And if you see
that you are failing at something,
you start to become demotivated.
By now, some people are probably wondering
whether they can do it or not.
-Sending you kisses, baby. I love you.
-A very big kiss.
Bye.
Because I want to surround myself
with the very best.
So if I'm not up to it,
I'll have to leave.
Hey, I'm in Atocha. There was
a bomb attack on a train and we
On March 11, 2004, Spain suffers
the first islamist attack in Europe
The first person to tell me was my wife.
She said, "There's been one
or more major attacks in Madrid,
"and we don't know who it is
or what's going on."
It was a feeling
of anxiety and helplessness,
of disbelief of what was going on.
You were watching it on TV,
but you're not
a bank employee, or a teacher.
You're part of the unit
that has to stop these people.
And I remember I told Yolanda,
"We have to stop these people,
no matter what.
"I have to stop them, no matter what."
G.E.O.
BEYOND LIMITS
EPISODE 4
SACRIFICE
The class has been isolated
from the pandemic in Trillo for 6 days.
They will remain indefinitely
in the G.E.O. training camp.
Come on! Are you going to give up now?
Come on!
No one stops until I say so!
Come on, we're nearly there!
The most enjoyable journeys
are the most unpredictable.
POLICEMAN ALCÁNTARA
Break that blockage
that's there in your head,
that desire of having everything
under control, and
let it flow.
The fact that things happen unpredictably
means that you can't prepare for them,
that you cannot train for them.
Therefore, the response that comes out
is an instinctive response.
What's more beautiful
than giving your life for other people?
Or at least putting it on the line?
If you feel that you have that in you
and that you can give it,
why not put yourself on the front lines
to be able to help and to prevent
other people from dying?
POLICEMAN SÁNCHEZ DEL ARCO
Why not?
I don't fear death.
I have as much respect for it
as you can have for a difficult situation,
But fear doesn't let you live.
You can't get anywhere with fear.
I'm here, I'm punching
and I'm moving inside.
Okay? You have to make an opening.
In you go.
Tyson used to say,
"I don't hit here, I hit here."
Well, this is the same.
I don't go in here, I go in here.
Right inside.
Don't stick your head out that far,
Acha, otherwise this will happen to you.
Does this hand have to be controlled here?
If you can. If not, you have to
tuck your neck in, chin in tight,
so there's no gap. I'll show you.
There can't be any kind of gap.
And the center of gravity
has to be on top of me.
You need to feel it there.
-What am I doing?
-Shit, my back.
-I clenched my fist.
-Yes.
-My fist is clenched.
-Underneath, yes.
-What do you do? You're screwed.
-I'm screwed.
I've got your arm, your fist.
And you're gone.
You're gone.
There it is!
In this exercise,
as I've told some of you,
is one of the most important to me
because it gives us courage
and makes us even more effective
and more and more immersed
in the G.E.O. philosophy.
Between now and the end of this course,
I don't want to see moans, complaints
and low enthusiasm and missed kicks
and hoping for it to end,
watching the time or looking at the sun
to see if the day is over.
I demand enthusiasm.
And I recommend enthusiasm,
because without enthusiasm you are sunk.
Since we resumed the course,
every day is Monday.
-Is this finished?
-Yes.
Uncertainty is going to be part
of whoever stays in this unit
for the rest of his life, quote unquote,
because tomorrow he'll be at home
and someone will call and say,
"We need you to come to this,"
or, "We need you to come to that."
And it won't matter if it's Monday
or Monday or Monday.
So, no problem.
My weak point may be family.
I'm a very family-oriented person.
POLICE OFFICER TIZÓN
I think about it a lot.
But that's not going
to make me lose motivation.
My daughter's birthday is coming up.
It's her third birthday, and
I'll be spending it here.
So, days like that are really bad.
And they say, "Here, give it to them."
And she goes, "Just me, Mom.
Not you. Out, over there. Away."
What a pity.
-Why?
-Because I'm missing so much.
-Okay, honey.
-She's behaving really well.
-I love you.
-Okay, sweetheart.
-Bye, my love. We miss you.
-I miss you very much.
Guys, I thought of a song for Sasha.
What have you got?
-Is it finished?
-Yes. It's simple, but still
It goes
How we love an early rise
And with Sasha exercise
All the course, every day
For Sasha I'd give my life away
-It's awesome, man.
-Good, right?
It's perfect.
It's explaining
everything we do every day.
Get up early, train and exhaust ourselves.
We're going to start
with some grown-up stuff now.
With Operational Action Techniques
for when we go to any G.E.O. deployment.
What you see today
will stay with you for life.
A continuous lifelong learning.
The target can be a van,
it can be a house,
it can be a cocaine lab
I don't care what it is.
The great secret of tactical units
is operational planning.
Always understanding the G.E.O.
as it has to be, a cog in the wheel.
What we want to see today,
fundamentally, is how to deal
with a corridor and a room.
We are looking for people in hiding
or people who are looking
for an armed confrontation.
The corridor is,
if we could paint it maroon,
the death zone. It's the danger zone.
Never put a lot of people in a hallway.
Mejías and Legi are completely pairing up.
You don't have to be like that to pair up.
I'm exaggerating things so you can learn,
but sometimes it happens.
Legi, from your position, can you see
all the rooms, all the openings,
-and down the hall?
-Yes.
Perfect. Can you target all of them
with your aim point?
-Yes.
-Perfect.
I understand my partner perfectly.
For Mejías and I, sometimes
it's enough to look at each other.
But that will happen with time.
It is essential. This is like a dance.
That's the beauty of it all,
in the end it's tactical poetry.
We're not two people
just coinciding in space-time.
We are a G.E.O. duo.
Mentally prepare and talk about this.
We are going to change your DNA.
You will think like this
and you will function as pairs.
Okay, next pair.
What we have to simulate
is that our partner who goes in
goes in alone,
but he goes in with four eyes.
It is as if I enter alone,
I do not have a partner,
and I have two other eyes here
when I go in.
That is what is simulated by my partner.
Impossible.
It's impossible for me to hit you.
You see? That's how you have to do it,
but observing.
That's four steps.
Wall.
Big steps.
Looking for the target.
He's a machine, man.
This guy is a machine.
Easy. Take it easy.
The winner here is whoever stays calm.
He came out from there,
but I'm from the Special Group
of Operations.
Do you know what the "S" stands for?
Special.
I'm paid to hold position here.
Not to go out there and get shot,
with my partner
nervously tugging on my back.
I've won the position.
If I'm alive, I hold position here.
And let him come back out if he wants to.
Everybody!
I want to see tense faces at all times!
This is not a game, gentlemen!
People's lives depend on tension
and how you handle it!
Is this the reaction
of a G.E.O. operative?
How many are we going to let them kill?
We are not playing!
Even if it seems so,
even if I'm very unpleasant,
and I know I'm very unpleasant,
what I'm trying to do is to make sure
that nothing happens to you tomorrow.
That is my key motivation
as director of this course.
-To you and to everybody.
-Yes, sir.
Let's do it again.
They are going to face criminals
of the most aggressive kind
you can imagine.
People with means, too, armed people.
Or people who simply have nothing to lose.
That moment of going into that room
to face the target with 100% certainty
may be one of the most
dangerous situations there is.
If you can't handle
the pressure of me behind you,
I won't even mention when there's
a jihadist commando ready to shoot at you.
Is it hot?
It's hot. You could make tea with it.
Leave me some water, please.
-Are your feet overheating?
-Yes.
Mine are worse than any other day.
-Is this your belt?
-Yes.
If you find a pair of dry pants,
they're mine too.
Can you imagine?
Showing up tomorrow like that?
We're in a good mood
when we have our free time.
If we didn't put
that little bit of humor into things
this would be like hell.
If you're in jail and you're afraid
In the end, what we're going to take
with us are those moments of relaxation
when it feels like
you're not among colleagues,
but among friends or buddies.
-I have leftovers from yesterday's meal.
-Me too.
The sponge cake and everything.
-You have the cake?
-Yeah. We'll split it later.
The sponge cake for breakfast tomorrow
would be great.
But we have dessert in the morning anyway.
-I mean, breakfast, pastries.
-Right.
But now, for dinner
Will it be the same thing again, man?
Meatballs with
I hope not.
I've had enough
of chickpeas and meatballs.
I'm sick of the meatballs,
but even more of the chickpeas.
I'm very close to Óscar.
We're in the same unit
and we had already met at the camp.
I'm lucky to have him with me.
I've been a police officer
for 13 years, since 2007.
I try to help,
I try to get to the places to help.
But sometimes you can't help,
sometimes they don't let you help,
sometimes you can fix it, and sometimes,
many other times, you can't fix anything.
I've seen it all.
I've seen it all. Everything.
And you push it down deep inside, and,
eventually, it makes your head explode.
-Class!
-Thirty!
-Long live Spain!
-Hurrah!
-Long live the G.E.O.!
-Hurrah!
-How we love an early rise!
-How we love an early rise!
-And with Sasha exercise!
-And with Sasha exercise!
-All the course, every day!
-All the course, every day!
-For Sasha I'd give my life away!
-For Sasha I'd give my life away!
-But whether I die or live!
-But whether I die or live!
-Someday I'll be an operative!
-Someday I'll be an operative!
When I was in the academy in Ávila,
one of the big problems of Spanish society
was the terrorist group ETA.
I've always liked
demanding and challenging tasks,
and one of the greatest challenges
for a national police officer back then
was the fight against terrorism.
I started the fight in the first group
of Intelligence in the Basque Country,
in San Sebastián, in 1995.
My job at that time, mainly,
was tracking, surveillance
and helping with the collection
of all possible information
that would result in the arrest
of any terrorist group members.
The attacks were continuous.
They started killing soldiers,
policemen and civil guards,
ending up with judges, politicians
Not to mention the collateral damage
to children, women,
completely innocent people,
as if everyone was guilty
of all their madness.
Sometimes, it seems that we have to face
these very serious situations
to realize that everything you do,
all the sacrifice,
all the lectures that we give here
They serve a purpose.
It's so that you can face those situations
with competence when they come.
So that the situation
doesn't get the better of you
and you are able to deal with it.
Come on! Let's go!
Three! Leg up. Four! Down.
I don't want to be caught in his legs.
So I attack here.
Look at the leg. Look.
I'm just floating. Flying.
No effort. You are very strong,
I know, but be technical.
Come on, get out of there. Fight him!
Don't give up, fight him!
Get your hips out. Don't give up!
That's the way to do it.
-It's tough!
-It's G.E.O.!
Class, attention.
Now.
Tizón, why are we at attention
if there are people fixing their gear?
At ease, now.
Push-up position everyone except those
who have to put on some of their gear.
The next time you order attention,
it's because everybody is ready
to be at attention.
Carry on, Ojeda, take it easy, don't rush.
Thank you, Ojeda,
for not knowing how we organize our gear.
We've been over this. This is a unit.
If somebody is not ready,
if we don't have our equipment ready,
we can't function as a unit.
Hold position, gentlemen!
Until Ojeda is here with his equipment,
you will remain in this position.
On your feet!
-Ready?
-Yes.
-Anything to update, Tizón?
-Sir, no news.
The word "leader" is not something that
It makes me a little nervous.
I don't know why.
I always say I'm the representative.
That's how I feel.
More than knowing what a boss is,
you have to try to be like our boss.
That's how I'd like to be. Like Pelayo.
Ready to start?
This is the police.
Come out with your hands up.
Slowly, to where we can see you.
Clear.
Where are you going?
I told you once clearly
that no one takes a fucking step forward
without my authorization.
Alcántara, are you meeting someone?
Are you in a hurry?
-No, Instructor.
-If they were shooting from the inside
and this wasn't a game to you,
would you walk by as you just did?
-No, Instructor.
-So why did you do it?
To offend me? To piss me off?
When they made me team leader,
my head exploded a little bit.
Because from the point of view of
someone like me, maybe a little rigid,
I started to mentally arrange
the pros, cons,
what could be good, what could be bad
Because I understand that these people,
the instructors,
they don't do anything randomly.
Continue. Wan, shrimp and bridge.
There are no more secrets.
My perception is
that I am bringing out the wolf in me.
Could I bring it out more? I don't know.
But I'm sure that if I have
to bring it out at some point
and I haven't brought it out,
I will bring it out.
But so far, I think
I just can't
I mean, I am always giving 120%.
In no situation have I stood still
and haven't given 200%.
I always try to give 200%.
Or at least that's my perception.
That's judo. It's moving. Judo is sliding.
The way of flexibility, judo.
I pay for this on the street.
I'm just trying to do it
to the best of my ability.
I understand that they appointed me
as team leader for a reason,
something they're watching, evaluating,
and I'll try to do it the best I can.
We salute our comrade as a sign of respect
to the one who has taught us
and today made us participants
in a 1,000-year-old struggle.
Salute your partner!
And if you have to be on the ground
with a person who is eight inches taller
and 50 pounds heavier than you,
then you have to fight hard
and claw it out.
Even if you lose all the matches,
you have given your all.
In that and in everything we do.
Here, in the water, all the mental issues
that each one of us has come out.
We are actually
competing against ourselves.
Everyone is competing against himself.
It's not really a competition between us.
I think we should think more
about working together
than looking
at each other's self-interests.
There is nothing individual here.
He's having some kind of anxiety attack.
Does anyone want to leave? Julián?
No.
Shall we continue?
We are in a competition.
They're going to get passed. Twice.
On the double! This is competition.
I don't like to lose.
Not even at tiddlywinks.
But I'm not going to do anyone any harm
so they lose. Far from it.
On the contrary,
I will do everything I can to win.
This shows the tactical
and mental differences that exist.
It's not a matter of which team
is physically stronger. Not at all.
It's all about brains, the mind.
Fifth lap. We finish with the water.
Straight up to Torronteras.
Come on, team, very well done.
Capo to Guille.
Team Bravo has just reached the top.
-Bravo reached the top. Congratulations.
-Way to go, Bravo.
All right, guys!
-Good job.
-Yes!
Well done, guys.
About time.
We were able
to redress the situation a little bit.
Take his hand.
The whole course is about awareness.
We also teach them a few techniques,
a few tactics and that's it.
The course is awareness, nothing more.
Of course you're not immortal,
but you have to believe that
in the operations you go to.
That you will face them
and come out unharmed.
You are almost a super-operative.
You have to leave with that feeling.
When you finish this training,
you have to believe in yourself.
Come on. You're all the best.
Good job, Juli.
Hey!
What are you doing?
Holy cow, you're all dressed up.
-I've already had dinner.
-What did you have?
I had that vegetarian combat menu.
I had a bag of pasta
with vegetarian meatballs for dinner.
I'll tell you what.
When you're done there,
you can go on Survivor
and you'll win it for being so handsome.
Either you go on Survivor
or on a dating show.
-Okay, Mom. Okay.
-You're so handsome.
You're so handsome.
Come here.
Let's say hello to your father.
-Look. Alvarito and Diego.
-Hi!
-How are you?
-Hi! How are you?
-We're fine.
-How's it going?
On vacation here in Trillo.
-All expenses paid.
-Free of charge.
-Excellent.
-Of course.
-Right.
-Great.
Anyway, nice meeting you.
-Okay.
-Best regards.
That was Álvaro.
Anyway, I'm going to leave you
because I have to clean up a little.
-Okay. You look great.
-Yeah.
-Be strong.
-Best of luck. Be strong!
-All right. Take care.
-We love you very much.
-Okay. Bye.
-Our hero.
-Bye.
-Take care.
Let's clean up.
We have been told
that someone is holed up there,
a member of an organized armed gang,
he is high on cocaine
and has a gun and may shoot at us.
Openings, go ahead.
Head for the corridor.
As a police officer, I have not been
in any high-risk situations
where weapons of any kind were involved.
This is the police speaking.
The danger is there.
It will always be there.
But in the end,
I believe that having a work discipline,
correct training and decisiveness,
it doesn't have to go bad.
Hands where we can see them.
Let's talk calmly.
You have to focus
and know what you're getting into.
You have to know what's at stake.
Your life and the life
of your colleagues is at stake.
On the ground! Get on the ground!
Drop the gun!
Even if they are exercises,
you have to be aware
that this whole "charade"
could be true tomorrow.
So you have to focus,
you have to put everything into it.
You have to be aware that there's a guy
in here with a shotgun, firing shots.
Or a guy who's walked into a room and says
he's going to blow up the building.
So we advance cautiously
until we get to the room he's in.
This is what we are doing,
reporting what we see,
advancing little by little,
clearing all the rooms,
until we get
to the target point and enter.
Let's move out and rotate.
Man, it's Monday already, damn it.
We could have an evening where we could
watch a movie or something to relax.
Shut up. Don't give them
any ideas about movies.
Wouldn't you rather have that than another
damn class getting all sweaty again?
-Let them play us Europa again.
-It tires me out.
I think I'd like watching Europa
on a normal day, at home.
-I'm going to elbow you in the mouth.
-Just to know what it was about.
You can just read the synopsis, then.
I've lost count.
About 19,
18 or 19 Mondays in a row.
One Monday after another.
And until we leave.
Monday, Monday, Monday.
Happy birthday, dear Julián
Happy birthday to you!
You bastards! Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
You're my second family, you assholes.
-Want to sing Sasha's song?
-Go on.
-How we love an early rise
-How we love an early rise
-And with Sasha exercise
-And with Sasha exercise
-Class!
-Thirty!
-Long live Spain!
-Hurrah!
-Long live the G.E.O.!
-Hurrah!
Time stands still here.
You have to get into that area
of "time standing still."
This is sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.
And the rest of your life
is going to be sacrifice.
You're always going to have to learn.
That's the reason for "Monday."
Because you're always
at the point of departure.
The main people I would like to go
and have a beer with
or enjoy a peaceful terrace
would be the people I am here with.
Because nobody else
is going to understand,
the way we understand, what it means
to sit in a quiet bar, watch people go by,
have a beer or two, chat for a while
The feeling is going to be amazing
because only those four or five of us know
how bad we have had it
and how much we are going to enjoy
this small thing of sitting in a chair
and having a quiet beer.
We have an operation underway.
It's called Ursa Minor.
We have a car, a blue Toyota Land Cruiser,
loaded with explosives,
waiting for a call sign, a jihadist,
to come and pick it up.
The number of targets
we have in the house is unknown.
We will seal off the house.
And the objective of when we launch
the final assault on this house
is that no one escapes from the place.
Questions?
Those of us chosen for glory
will get to work now.
Every day that goes by
we tell them what they're getting into.
You are joining an elite unit.
We're playing for real.
This is where they really shoot
and really try to hurt you.
Zero risk does not exist in these units.
You are not exempt from the possibility
of something bad happening to you.
But of course, the training
gives you that confidence
of knowing what you have to do.
Descend, descend.
Charlie one, two and five are in position.
Headquarters, we want to know
if you see any lights on in the house.
Affirmative.
Everyone, mask protocol, mask protocol.
All units, all units. Initiate.
Carry on. Assault.
Okay. Stop. Look over there.
Don't look at me, look over there.
What is pair one doing
with their firearm pointing upwards?
Aim forward!
Aim forward, not at the ceiling.
To all team members. We are going
to deploy gas, we are going to deploy gas.
Get ready.
Give it up!
Keep talking to the target from there.
Keep talking, don't move forward.
-Freeze! Police!
-Don't go get him!
Don't go after him, let him come!
Get him out.
What are you doing there by yourself?
Since when do we let
a fellow team member go forward alone?
Don't open your eyes.
Lift your head a little. There.
End of exercise. We're leaving the area.
We're leaving the area.
This never happened.
Everyone over here, take off your masks.
We never leave a partner alone
when we go into a house
where we are being fired upon.
We work together, all at the same time.
We've been over this, gentlemen.
Since when do we go after a target,
an incoming suspect?
We're not assaulting.
If a target is coming out,
we say, "Come, towards me."
I don't advance into the area.
I don't advance to arrest a target
in an area that's not covered
and leaves me in danger.
Am I well covered?
Are they coming towards me?
Did I throw gas?
What's the normal thing to do?
"Come!" He'll come. If he's already out,
he's already on the move. Let him come.
I don't move towards a dangerous area.
It's not a scolding,
it's a story for you to
This time it's a joke. Nothing happened.
The bad guy was very nice.
But tomorrow, you'll have a big problem.
We're not playing, we're learning,
so that tomorrow, when this happens to us,
we'll be effective and won't get killed!
That's what this is about.
Shit, it smells like gunpowder.
23 days after the 2004
Madrid train bombings,
the terrorists,
surrounded by the G.E.O.,
blow themselves up
just before being arrested
After-effects, considering everything
that could have happened, are minimal.
I don't have too many visible ones.
I have very few, but I do have some.
But I suppose that everyone faces
these situations in a different way.
In my case, what became
totally clear to me is that
in life you have to know
what is important and what is not.
And that plans are made in the short term.
You cannot live worrying
about what you're going to do next year.
That stuck with me
because life plays games with you.
It takes you and discards
you when it wants to. On a whim.
And it taught me to deal
with the more immediate things,
without medium terms.
I'm just thinking about Javier.
I don't know.
Very few days in my life have passed,
since that fateful evening,
that his image hasn't come to mind.
And that means that he's still here.
And that's nice.
In many of my teammates' lockers, in mine,
in the gym, there's a picture of him.
That means he's still here.
Those who don't know him know he exists.
They know who he was and what he did.
That means he's still here.
It's as if he never left.
He was exceptional.
The embodiment of what we are.
I remember it like it could happen again
or something even more serious.
And we have to always keep in mind
that what he did, we are all capable
of repeating it again. Of being there.
At the stage of the course we are at,
I think everyone is wondering
whether they are worthy or not.
It is a chain
that is connected by many links,
so everything has to mesh perfectly.
And if you see
that you are failing at something,
you start to become demotivated.
By now, some people are probably wondering
whether they can do it or not.
-Sending you kisses, baby. I love you.
-A very big kiss.
Bye.
Because I want to surround myself
with the very best.
So if I'm not up to it,
I'll have to leave.