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Three Basque leaders freed on bailFrom CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Three leaders of Batasuna, widely considered to be the political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA, paid $780,000 in bail Friday and left jail, where they were sent last month on charges of inciting violence. The three included Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi, jailed on March 29 but eligible for $300,000 bail; and two other Batasuna leaders, Juan Jose Petrikorena and Juan Maria Olano, who paid $240,000 each. Otegi had previously declared himself to be a key "interlocutor" in the potential peace process, given ETA's declaration on March 22 of its first-ever "permanent" cease-fire. But when leaving the Soto del Real prison near Madrid at 7:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) Friday, none of the Batasuna leaders made any statements. They simply got into a van and drove off, said a reporter on the scene for CNN partner station CNN+. Batasuna supports ETA's goal of Basque independence but denies it is the political wing of ETA, which is blamed for more than 800 killings in its 37-year campaign of violence. ETA has previously declared cease-fires, but never a "permanent" one, raising hopes across Spain that peace might take hold. Some analysts said that the number of days it took for the outlawed Batasuna party to raise the $780,000 (650,000 euros) in bail for the three leaders was an indication of the party's precarious financing. The three leaders must check in daily with police near their homes in northern Spain, the judge ordered. Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero began talks March 28 with the leaders of other political parties, seeking a consensus for the peace process. "We're facing a long and difficult process. But that process will be much more efficient, and will get the results we all want, and faster, if there's a minimum common denominator among the political forces and especially with the (conservative) Popular Party," Zapatero said that day, after his talks with Mariano Rajoy, the Popular Party leader. Zapatero continued the talks this week with the president of the Basque regional government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, who is with the moderate Basque Nationalist Party. If the government verifies that ETA is indeed respecting its cease-fire, then, Zapatero has announced, he would go to Spanish Parliament before the summer break to seek authorization to hold talks with the organization. The three Batasuna leaders left jail hours after Zapatero announced a surprise Cabinet shuffle, the first in his two-year-old government, that elevates his trusted aide, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, to interior minister, in charge of police and security. Rubalcaba, a Socialist parliamentary leader who held Cabinet posts under a previous Socialist government, is a top party strategist who helped design anti-terrorist strategy. Some analysts say he could be a steady hand in helping to guide the peace process. Analysts say the police crackdown in recent years in Spain and in France helped push ETA to the point of a cease-fire. There are about 500 ETA prisoners in Spanish jails and an estimated 140 to 150 others in France jails, sources tell CNN. ETA -- which stands for Basque Homeland and Liberty in the ancient Basque language -- wants an independent homeland made up of four Spanish provinces with Basque traditions, along with a portion of southwest France. But Spain, France and the European Union have all said they don't want an independent Basque state, and ETA is classified as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States 
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