Psychopathic female assassins have become all the rage since the television drama Killing Eve shot the character of Villanelle to anti-hero greatness. She was evidently based on a notorious Spanish hit-woman, Isola Lopez Riano, who killed 23 people for the Basque separatist group ETA in the 1980s. She was dubbed La Tigresa (The Tigress) because of her legendary sexual prowess, often seducing policemen before she killed them. The dramatist who translated her across to television described her as narcissistic and completely lacking in empathy.
She joined the group aged 18 and spent 10 years fighting with them, with her most infamous attack being the 1986 car bomb in a Madrid square which killed 12 Civil Guard and injured 50 people. Later that year she killed five more with another car bomb, gunned several policemen and four soldiers, and attempted to kill a high court judge. ETA finally pensioned her off and she was arrested in 1994 in southern France, served time for terrorism offences and was then extradited to Spain where she was sentenced to 2,000 years in prison, though was released in 2017. In prison she renounced violence, apologised to relatives of the victims and was declared persona non grata by ETA.
She was born 18 March 1964 in San Sebastian, Spain, and lo and behold La Tigresa is the personification of a Neptunian monster – a Sun Mars and Chiron in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio. She might have been a dancer or a yoga teacher. With admittedly Mars in a wide opposition to Pluto which would fit with a ruthless streak. Her Venus in tactile and indulgent Taurus was trine Pluto and Uranus as well as opposition Neptune so she would have a seductive way about her.
Her 18th Harmonic which is often strong with serial killers is very marked joining together the megalomaniac Neptune Pluto with the Sun – she found a cause that gave her permission to wield ultimate power.
The same warped ambition is found in her midpoints with her Pluto falling on her Neptune/North Node midpoint along with a brutal Mars square her Sun/Pluto and a methodical Sun conjunct Jupiter/Saturn.
Not a show I watched after the first half season but the inspiration is chilling enough.
She murdered how many people? And why is she out of prison?
She did 23 years inside in total and evidently despite the original Spanish sentence they can’t keep them beyond 30 years – so I assume good behaviour cut a bit off the 30 years.
When I lived on the East Coast back in the early 1980’s the apartment mgr told me a story about one of her female tenants. The tenant always paid in cash, had no furniture in the rooms, and explained that she traveled frequently. Come to find, the tenant was a hit woman for “the family”. She was caught after being shot in NYC by one of her intended targets. Police knew of her activities but could never grab her.
Wow.
Who was she? Do you know her name?
I could begin researching it, tho the incident was back in 1980 or thereabouts.
Hi. I found the newspaper article but it wants my credit card # for a 1 week “trial/free” subscription 😉 WHich means it charges me for a year then I have to petition tog et the “free” subscription revoked. Not gonna go there right now; I’m fresh outta bankruptcy.
Here’s the into link: “https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/282072153/”
Feb 16, 1980. The hit woman lived a couple buildings away from where I lived.
With that Uranus/Pluto on the IC, there’s some deep family-related karma there, IMO.
Hmmmm! My own natal chart shares some similarities with that of La Tigresa. Some of my aspects are “softer,” though. She was/is only a couple years younger than I am. Like her, I was not born in the U.S., though came to the U.S. very early in life. I have Chiron in Pisces 9th, with Jupiter in Pisces 9th rather than Aries 10th (maybe my saving grace for empathy/compassion!) both conjunct MC, all trining my Neptune at 11 Scorpio. As well, my Uranus/Pluto conjunct the IC. However, I’m mid-Gemini rising with Mercury in mid-Libra 5th, with moon tightly conjunct Venus in mid-Scorpio 6th, 7-8 degree orb from my Neptune. My Mars is at 24 Cancer trining the moon/Venus in Scorpio. My Saturn is tightly conjunct SouthNode in early Aquarius/8th. However, my sun (tightly conjunct Black Moon Lilith) is in Libra rather than Aries. As it is, I’m living my best life just being a worker bee at a silly job, cooking delicious meals for my husband and friends, and taking loving, joyful care of our fur babies too. But mess with my loved ones, and I will rain hell down on that person!
I am seeing a mutable grand cross in her chart between her nodes, Uranus/Pluto, and Chiron. Makes me think of the Borgias or the de Medicis.