The Diplomat
The US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, thanked yesterday, on his Twitter account, the “close collaboration” of the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the US Embassy in Madrid with the US Armed Forces in the Kabul evacuation operation.
In his message, Austin referred specifically to the work carried out “by the men and women” of the Ministry headed by Margarita Robles, as well as the US diplomatic representation, in close collaboration with the US forces at the Rota base, to attend to the personnel evacuated from Afghanistan.
“Our global network of friends and partners is of critical importance in this mission”, the Pentagon chief stressed, in response to a US Navy publication highlighting the collaboration with the Spanish authorities.
On the same social network, the US Navy said, along with several photographs: “Spanish mariners and personnel stationed at the Rota Naval Base have erected tents and beds for evacuees who have arrived from Afghanistan and are supporting the Department of Defense mission to facilitate their safe departure and relocation.
The Rota base received two flights of US aircraft on Friday carrying a total of more than 800 Afghans evacuated from Kabul. Early this morning another flight arrived with 220 more people.
US President Joe Biden reached an agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez days ago to host up to 4,000 Afghan collaborators in Rota and Morón until they could be taken to the United States or elsewhere.
