conviction_status religion conviction birth_place alias conviction_penalty image_caption birth_date spouse article_title education name image_name
imprisoned sunni islam murder michelena , táchira , venezuela carlos carlos the jackal life imprisonment `` carlos '' in a paris courtroom in 2000 12 october 1949 magdalena kopp lana jarrar isabelle coutant-peyre carlos the jackal
 london school of economics ilich ramírez sánchez ilich ramirez sanchez.jpg
carlos the jackal

ilich ramírez sánchez -lrb- ; born october 12 , 1949 -rrb- , also known as carlos the jackal , is a venezuelan terrorist currently serving a life sentence in france for the 1975 murder of an informant for the french government and two french counter-intelligence agents .
while in prison he was further convicted of attacks in france that killed 11 and injured 150 people and sentenced to an additional life term .
a committed marxist-leninist , ramírez sánchez is commonly described as one of the most notorious political terrorists of his era .
when he joined the popular front for the liberation of palestine -lrb- pflp -rrb- in 1970 , recruiting officer bassam abu sharif gave him the code name `` carlos '' because of his south american roots .
after several bungled bombings , ramírez sánchez achieved notoriety for the 1975 raid on the organization of the petroleum exporting countries -lrb- opec -rrb- headquarters in vienna , which killed three people .
this was followed by a string of attacks against western targets .
for many years he was among the most wanted international fugitives .
carlos was dubbed `` the jackal '' by `` the guardian '' after one of its correspondents reportedly spotted frederick forsyth 's 1971 novel `` the day of the jackal '' near some of the fugitive 's belongings .
for his part , ramírez sánchez denied the 1975 killings , saying they were orchestrated by mossad , the israeli secret service , and condemned israel as a terrorist state .
during his trial in france in 1997 , he said , `` when one wages war for 30 years , there is a lot of blood spilled -- mine and others .
but we never killed anyone for money , but for a cause -- the liberation of palestine . ''
