- The subdelegate of the Government presides with Colonel Luis Germán Avilés the institutional act of the Day of the Pillar in the Lugo Command
- López highlights the body’s investigative work and recalls that during the first quarter of the year 2,196 criminal offenses were recorded in its field of action, 5.22% less than in 2025
- The celebration includes the award of 21 decorations, the recognition of retired civil guard Domingo Cabanas, 95 years old, and a tribute to the body’s deceased
Olimpia López, deputy delegate of the Government in Lugo, presided together with Luis Germán Avilés, chief colonel of the Command, the institutional act of the Day of the Pillar, patron of the Civil Guard. In it, he highlighted the closeness, professionalism and vocation of service of the agents who carry out their work in the province. During the speech, López thanked the troops for their commitment to citizen security and stressed the human dimension of an institution with more than 180 years of history.
The deputy delegate pointed out that the Civil Guard plays a fundamental role in a territory such as Lugo, characterized by its extension and by the dispersion of the population. “In those places, the presence of the Civil Guard is much more than a guarantee of security. It is closeness. It is trust. It is knowing that, even in the smallest localities, there is an institution to go to when a problem arises,” he said.
Olimpia López stressed that Lugo continues to be one of the safest provinces in Spain and referred to the evolution of crime in the territorial scope of the Civil Guard. During the first quarter of 2026, 2,196 performances were recorded, 5.22% less than in the same period of the previous year. The subdelegate linked these data to the daily work of prevention, research and attention to citizenship carried out by agents
Research and attention to citizenship
During his speech, López recalled some of the actions developed by the Civil Guard in the province. Among them, the DILINGER operation, related to a robbery at a bank branch in Cervantes. The investigation allowed the two people to be arrested when they were preparing to commit a second robbery and, also, to recover elements linked to the first crime.
The deputy delegate also highlighted an intervention made this year in the Lugo Command itself, where three civil guards assisted a minor who needed urgent attention and practiced the Heimlich maneuver to safeguard his life. López put this case as an example of the preparedness and responsiveness of the agents.
“The uniform identifies the institution, but the people who wear it are the ones who make sense of it,” said the deputy delegate, who defended the need to combine firmness in law enforcement with closeness to citizenship.
Recognitions
During the celebration, 21 decorations were awarded to members of the Civil Guard and other security forces, in recognition of their professional merits and the services provided.
Captain Manuel Garrido Vázquez; Brigade Jordi Álvarez García; First Sergeant Eugenio Maximino Martínez Pérez; Sergeants Jesús Castro Fernández and Alexander López Cabado; First Sergeant Eduardo Carreira López, Diego Dopico López and Marcos Quintas González; First Sergeant Mónica Revilla Celeiro; and Civil Guards Santiago Rodríguez Villar, David Pérez Prol, Francisco Dopico López and Marcos Quintas González received the Cross of Order of Merit.
He was also distinguished with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard with white badge Hugo Saavedra Díaz, inspector of the National Police.
Among the recognized services are Operation NURSIA, which ended with the arrest of one person for a crime of murder and another of attempted homicide; Operation ALAVANCA, which allowed the arrest of five people for their alleged participation in 18 crimes against property, illegal possession of weapons and belonging to a criminal group; and Operation ATTACUS, in which an international organization dedicated to committing scams to companies for imposing 400,000 euros was dismantled.
For their part, Corporal 1 Miguel Rosón González and the Civil Guard José Luis Barrio Abelaira received the Cross of Military Merit with a white badge. The act also included the imposition of the general faixín on the image of the Virgen del Pilar by Miguel Ángel González Arias, general who delivered this piece as a sign of his relationship with the institution and with the patron saint.
Tribute to the veterans and the deceased
The Command paid tribute to Domingo Cabanas Fieiras, a retired 95-year-old civil guard and Lugo’s neighbour, as the oldest member of the institution in the province. Luis Germán Avilés gave him a commemorative plaque in recognition of his years of service.
The celebration also included the award of the Fellowship of Friends of Lana Guardia Civil (HABECU) for academic excellence, which recognized the effort and dedication of students linked to the families of the body.
Olimpia López ended her speech with a gratitude for the professionalism, collaboration and commitment of the agents with security and with the rights of the citizens. “Authority exercised with humanity does not lose strength, but gains respect,” he said.