In 2008, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón opened a far-reaching investigation into the disappearances of Republicans in Spain during the Franco era, also ordering the opening of alleged mass graves, including one believed to contain the remains of the poet Federico García Lorca."Spain: Investigation launched into Franco's crimes", World Socialist Web Site, 3 November 2008 The investigation caused political turmoil, with people opposed to it claiming that the 1977 amnesty covered all the crimes committed by either side during the Civil War. One of the founding members of UDM, retired colonel Julián Delgado, who, after the transition to democracy, was appointed head of the Guardia Urbana (the city police force) in Barcelona, publicly objected to the investigation, because it would be "absurd to stir up pain." Delgado warned that support for the victims of the Civil War and their families should be done "without the desire for revenge" since this "does no good to democracy.""Digging up past atrocities" , InterPress Service, 9 October 2008
