The Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI) is the emergency response unit of the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 Guardia Civil

Civil Guard (Spain)

The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...

. Its motto is Celeritas et Subtilitas Patrio.

The unit was created on February 3, 1982. It comprises approximately fifty people, admitted after a rigorous selection procedure at the Special Training Centre (established on 6 August 1980), where candidates also receive intensive training in special tactics. The UEI's equipment is among the most modern and sophisticated in the Spanish security services, and includes: Ruger

Sturm, Ruger

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut-based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action...

 44 revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

s, Glock

Glock

Glock Ges.m.b.H. is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, named after its founder, Gaston Glock...

 pistols , Uzi

Uzi submachine gun

The Uzi is a family of Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows for the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.The first Uzi...

 and Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...

 submachine gun

Submachine gun

A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...

s, Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a family of bolt-action sniper rifles designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International...

 Sniper rifles, Heckler & Koch G41

Heckler & Koch G41

The G41 is a German 5.56mm assault rifle introduced in 1981 and produced in limited quantities by Heckler & Koch. It was designed to replace the 5.56mm HK33 in service providing a more modern weapon platform compatible with contemporary NATO standards. It is chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO...

 Winchester

Winchester rifle

In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...

 sniper rifle

Sniper rifle

In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...

s with telescopic sight

Telescopic sight

A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...

s. On operations UEI personnel wear black uniforms; otherwise, for security reasons, they wear nothing that identifies them as unit members.

The scope of UEI operations and total number of personnel are unknown. But it is known that the unit has participated in operations against terrorism. One of its first operations was an assault on a prison following the kidnapping of 6 prison workers by 5 inmates.

Equipment

• Glock-17
• MP5 different versions
• G36K and G36C
• Franchi SPAS-12
  Franchi SPAS-12
  The SPAS-12 is a combat shotgun that was manufactured by the Italian firearms company Franchi S.p.A. from 1979 to 2000. The SPAS-12 is a dual-mode shotgun, meaning it can be calibrated to cycle either semi-automatically or through pump-action. The SPAS-12 has sold well to military and police users...
  
  

See also

• Spanish special forces units
• Counter-terrorism
  Counter-terrorism
  Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...