Carlos the Jackal, one of the most notorious terrorists of the 20th century, told a Swiss newspaper that that he travelled freely via Switzerland throughout the 1970s while benefitting from a “non-aggression pact” between Bern and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
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So safe did he feel that he flew to Zurich rather than Vienna when travelling to Austria for what became his most spectacular feat: the kidnapping of oil ministers at OPEC headquarters in 1975.
The 66-year-old Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, spoke with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung by telephone from his prison in France, where he is serving several life sentences.
His revelation has provoked outrage following years of suspicion that Swiss authorities turned a blind eye to PLO activity in the 1970s and even provided a certain degree of support in exchange for a promise of no attacks against Swiss targets.