Guardia Civil officers have detained the sculptor Enrique Tenreiro in the Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen, Madrid) for defacing the tombstone of Francisco Franco.
Using a plastic can of red spray paint that went undetected by the security systems in place, Tenreiro painted a dove of peace and the words 'Por la Libertad' (For Freedom) at around 11 o'clock on Wednesday morning.
Tenreiro proclaimed that his painting was an "act of protest" for the "stolen freedom" of his parents' and grandparents' generation.
"This is just my two cents' worth," he said, "but I hope it serves to alleviate the pain of those who lost so much in a civil war that should never have happened".
After being processed by the Guardia Civil, Tenreiro was released. He was not formally arrested, but will be investigated for a crime against property with the possibility of being charged with a hate crime.
A video of Tenreiro's actions this morning was shared on Twitter and the sculptor can be seen kneeling before the tombstone, then pushing the flowers to one side before painting a large red dove of peace and his message.
As he was detained by security guards he shouted "for freedom and the reconciliation of the Spanish people, so there is no such thing as the vanquished".
The type of paint used by Tenreiro is currently being analysed so that the best method of cleaning it off can be established, but for the time being Franco's tombstone has been covered with a white sheet so as to obscure the message.
