Eduardo González
The new United States ambassador to Spain, Benjamin Leon Jr., was sworn in before Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Embassy announced on social media.
The ceremony took place this Tuesday at the State Department headquarters in Washington. “With this formality completed, the ambassador will soon arrive in Spain to assume his duties and present his credentials to His Majesty King Felipe VI,” the US Embassy in Madrid continued. “The US Embassy looks forward to working under his leadership to advance US priorities and further strengthen the relationship between the United States, Spain, and Andorra,” it concluded.
The appointment of Benjamin Leon Jr. was confirmed last December by the US Senate, almost a year after he was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid had been vacant since July 2024, when Julissa Reynoso, ambassador since January 2022, left the post to return to the law firm Winston & Strawn and join the Democratic campaign for the U.S. presidential election. Since then, the highest U.S. representation in Spain had been held by Minister Counselor Rian Harris, in her capacity as Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy.
Benjamín León Jr., born in 1944 in Oriente, Cuba, a resident of Miami since 1961 and a donor to the Republican Party, assumes the position at a time of strained bilateral relations, primarily due to disagreements over military spending and amid President Donald Trump’s offensive against the international order, following the invasion of Venezuela (condemned by Spain) and pressure on Greenland and Iran.
Last October, Donald Trump proposed Spain’s expulsion from NATO for its refusal to increase defense spending to five percent, a path not provided for in the Alliance Treaty itself, which establishes voluntary withdrawal as the only procedure for such an exit. The government of Pedro Sánchez reacted by reiterating that “Spain is a full and committed member of NATO” and calling for “utmost calm.”
This was not the first time Trump had attacked the government of Pedro Sánchez for its refusal to increase military spending during the NATO Summit in The Hague last June. On that occasion, the US president even threatened Spain with “double” tariffs, but Sánchez himself pointed out in his response that trade negotiations between Spain and third countries fall under the purview of the EU as a whole, given its status as a single market, and therefore, the United States cannot impose differentiated tariffs on one of its member states.
Separately, last January, Donald Trump again attacked Spain during the Davos Forum (Switzerland) for refusing to increase defense spending to five percent of GDP. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them. We’re going to have to talk,” he stated. In response, Pedro Sánchez pointed out that “Spain has tripled its defense investment” since he took office and expressed his “delight” to speak with the US president.
“I will make Spain understand that it is making a big mistake”
Benjamín León Jr. himself affirmed last October, during his appearance before the Senate hearing to examine his nomination for Ambassador to Madrid, that he would work “diligently with the Spanish government to make them understand that it is a big mistake” not to raise defense spending to five percent.
“Spain has always been a great partner of the United States and a great host” for the US armed forces, he continued. Therefore, he assured, he will work to ensure that the Spanish Government “reverses this policy and fulfills the commitment” of five percent and “to strengthen our partnership in defense matters, including increased Spanish spending and investment in defense and continued participation in military exercises.”
