Kepa Urra was arrested in an operation against ETA in 1992 and tortured. The Regional Court of Bizkaia sentenced José María De las Cuevas Carretero, Manuel Sánchez Corbi and Antonio Lozano García to four years in prison and six years in incapacity for ill-treatment. The Supreme Court subsequently reduced their prison sentences to one year, but did not deprive them of their disqualification. They were finally pardoned by the Spanish Ministry of Justice in 1999.

Since then, De las Cuevas has given speeches on behalf of the Civil Guard on the treatment of detainees, among other issues. In 2001 he was sent as a representative of the State during a regular visit to Spain by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the European Commission. At the time, the Minister of the Interior was Mariano Rajoy.

The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) released a report against the Spanish state in 2005. He criticized the pardon of the torturers of Kepa Urra, arguing that it was a measure to protect impunity.

José María De las Cuevas Carretero was a sergeant when he tortured Kepa Urra, and he was acquiring better positions until he became captain, the position he currently holds.