The Democratic Senator of the United States Bob Menendez has launched a harsh accusation against the Spanish Government in the act of confirmation of the new ambassador that the Joe Biden Administration has appointed to settle soon in Madrid, Julissa Reynoso . Menendez, who is the head of the International Relations Committee of the US Senate, has accused the Sánchez government of “adopting points of view that are outside of democracy and Human Rights.”
Menendez launched a harsh barrage against the foreign projection of Spain in Latin American countries that represent particularly delicate points for the United States, especially Cuba and Venezuela, and with which the Spanish approach to this part collides head-on with the defense of American freedom. . Menendez took the floor to emphasize to the next ambassador that “Spain is an important ally for us, but its positions with some countries do not coincide with ours and, sometimes, they are even contrary to what we want.”
In this sense, Menendez stressed that “in Cuba, Spain seems to be more concerned about its businesses and its hotels than about defending the freedom of Cuban citizens and we have not managed to get them to adhere to our statements,” referring to the continued refusal of the Sánchez’s government and its allies to refer to the Cuban regime as a dictatorship. «In Venezuela, which is a cancer in the area, the Spanish position is also worrying. And I could continue listing places where this occurs, “laments Menendez, who is aware of, for example, the closeness of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to Nicolás Maduro, with whom he has met on several occasions to whitewash him internationally.
Senator Menendez, a partner in the Democratic Party of President Joe Bien, remarks that he is “deeply concerned that Spain has adopted views that are outside of democracy and the treatment of Human Rights that we expect from a NATO ally.” .
This senator had already shown his concern this year about the ambiguity with which the Government of Spain is approaching Cuba, “more concerned with its investments than with democracy.”
Julissa Reynoso, in her first address as future United States ambassador to Spain, answered the questions of Senator Menendez, who asked her directly about what she intends to do to bring Spain closer to the positions that her country hopes as an ally in NATO. «I will urge you to be more transparent in what has to do with respect for Human Rights in places like Cuba or Venezuela. Given their presence in these places and their role in the European Union, Spain can do much more in these matters and I will work so that they do more than they are doing now to maintain the same democratic standard.
