The Diplomat
The United States will be able to transfer up to 4,000 Afghan collaborators to the Rota and Morón de la Frontera bases, according to the agreement reached with the Spanish government during the conversation held last Saturday between the US president, Joe Biden, and the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez.
Government sources yesterday provided this information on the maximum number of Afghans that Spain is willing to receive at these bases, where there are US troops. It will be a temporary shelter, for two weeks, until a location is found for the evacuees, either in the United States or in other countries.
Washington announced yesterday that it had reached agreements with seven countries for these shelters, something that Biden thanked, citing Spain on two occasions during a public speech to give an account of the work that the United States is carrying out to evacuate Americans and those who have collaborated with that country over the last twenty years.
Yesterday, the US Embassy in Madrid issued a statement saying that a memorandum of understanding has been signed by which US flights with evacuees from Afghanistan will arrive at the Rota Naval Base and the Morón Air Base.
We are grateful,” the statement says, “for the Spanish government’s partnership for nearly 70 years, with the last 20 years in Afghanistan. Our cooperation to bring to safety those who have supported our collective efforts in Afghanistan is a testament to the strength of our bilateral ties and our commitment as NATO Allies”.
Finally, he stresses: “We have reached this agreement with Spain based on our shared values and our common mission to get people out of harm’s way.
Meanwhile, Spain continues its evacuation process from Afghanistan. The Minister for Social Security, Inclusion and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, said that 566 Afghans have already arrived at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base, half of whom have requested asylum in Spain, and 91 have been transferred to various reception centres.
To this number must be added the 260 new evacuees who arrived at Torrejón late yesterday afternoon, aboard a Spanish plane contracted by the Spanish Defence.
To reinforce the Spanish operation in Afghanistan, a special operations team from the Spanish army has been sent to Kabul. One of its possible missions would be to leave the airport, at least in the closest areas, in search of Afghan citizens who are on the Spanish lists to be evacuated, but who have difficulty accessing the airport facilities, given the chaos in the city and the controls exercised by the Taliban.
This possibility, however, would be subject to the decision of the US forces controlling the airport, and in any case, they will support the 110 military personnel and 20 members of the Spanish security forces already in Kabul, trying to get as many Afghan collaborators out as possible.
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, insisted yesterday that the intention is to continue “working to bring in as many people as possible“, although she admitted that it depends on the United States, which, in principle, had planned to withdraw all its troops from the country by 31 August, as to when this can be done.
The minister, who once again praised the work that the Spanish diplomats, security forces and military are doing in Afghanistan, pointed out that “Spain is giving its best image” and asked the opposition to support the operation.
Yesterday, the PP leader, Pablo Casado, affirmed that the government will have “all the support” of his party “for matters of state”, as long as it does it “well”, with “transparency” and is accountable for its management before the Congress of Deputies.
Casado took the opportunity, however, to criticise Sánchez for his relationship with the United States, and encouraged him “now that he has realised that Spain has two very important US bases”,
He also proposed that Rota and Morón should be the headquarters of the US Atlantic Alliance detachment to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking networks on the African continent.
