Eduardo González
The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, announced yesterday that her party will request a vote in the Congress in case the Government decides to send liaison officers to the military mission led by the United States in the Red Sea.
In statements in the corridors of the Senate, the former minister showed her “enormous concern” after the recent statements by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in which he promised to “study” Washington’s proposal for Spain to send liaison officers to the mission.
According to Belarra, participating in the mission could turn Spain into a “bodyguard” of the bombings that the United States is carrying out in Yemen, the “poorest” country in the Arab world. “It is not acceptable that Spain can be involved in a military conflict, in a war,” she continued. In any case, she warned, authorization from Congress is “essential” for sending military personnel, as established by the National Defense Law.
Last Monday, Pedro Sánchez assured that he is willing to “study” the United States proposal so that Spain can participate with liaison officers in the Red Sea mission and assured that “Spain is not opposed to the creation of any other operation in the Red Sea, but we consider that the Atalanta operation does not have the characteristics nor is it of the nature of the operation that is required for the Red Sea.”
Spain has refused to send ships and troops to Operation Prosperity Guardian, led by Washington to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi rebels. The Sánchez Government has requested the creation of a specific mission with “its own scope, means and objectives”, in contrast to the European Union’s intention to link this operation to Atalanta, the mission led by Spain to combat piracy in the Indian ocean.
