The Spanish paper El Pais reviews that the US quietly withdrew two workers staff on the request of Spain’s authorities.
Spain has ejected two workers staff at the US embassy, following allegations that they tried to bribe Spanish intelligence officers in alternate for secrets and techniques.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles stated on Thursday that Spain had filed a grievance to the US, however that the incident wouldn’t hurt diplomatic relations between the 2 international locations.
“Spain and the United States are friends, allies and partners,” she instructed reporters. “When there are issues that may affect us, they are discussed and dealt with, but in no way does that influence the relations we have.”
The newspaper El Pais reported that two unnamed embassy staff had been discreetly eliminated on the request of Madrid, following an investigation that concluded that they’d obtained info from Spanish intelligence brokers for a “large sum”.
Robles confirmed {that a} judicial inquiry was trying into “irregular conduct” on the CNI, Spain’s intelligence company. The content material of the fabric shared with the 2 embassy staff is just not clear.
El Pais reported {that a} CNI chief of space and his assistant had been arrested two months in the past, however a courtroom ordered that their case stay secret. The paper added that US Ambassador Julissa Reynoso denied any information or involvement when summoned by Spanish authorities.
“At least two US agents stationed at the US Embassy in Madrid, who were directly involved in the recruitment of CNI spies, have been discreetly expelled from Spain,” the El Pais story reads.
Whereas trying to recruit brokers from a rustic’s intelligence equipment is a type of spycraft typical of relations between hostile powers, El Pais referred to as the incident “an openly hostile act” not befitting of “friends or allies”.
The Spanish outlet El Confidencial first reported in regards to the arrest of the 2 CNI staff on Monday. Requested in regards to the incident on Monday, US nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan declined to remark.
The US embassy in Madrid and Spain’s overseas ministry have additionally declined to touch upon the affair.
