Two American agents have been expelled from Spain, following the discovery of their infiltration into the Spanish intelligence services. This significant breach of trust involves two members of Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI) who were found to have access to sensitive information they should not have possessed.
Revealing the Infiltration
Investigations have shown these two agents were recruited by American agents stationed at the U.S. embassy in Madrid. It was found out that they were trading classified information for money to their American counterparts.
Action Taken
Post discovery, the Spanish agents were immediately arrested and the American agents were discretely removed from Spain. It has not been disclosed what the confidential information involved was. In response to this betrayal, Spain's Minister of Defense and the foreign minister expressed their dissatisfaction to the U.S. ambassador in Madrid.
A Continuing Problem
This is not an isolated incident. The last event of this nature took place in 2007, when a CNI agent was found guilty of leaking confidential information to Russia. Additionally, it's noteworthy that this incident contributes to a series of scandals involving the Spanish intelligence over the past five years.
One such scandal involved the spy software Pegasus, which led to the resignation of the former director of CNI. This is also not the first time the American intelligence agency, the CIA, has been suspected of dubious actions within Spain. A peculiar attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid in February 2019 was also suspected to be the CIA's handiwork.
Assurances and Future Implications
The Spanish government is attempting to mitigate the severity of the incident, assuring that the relations between the U.S. and Spain, who are NATO allies, remain unscathed. However, it is expected that more details of the case will come to light during the upcoming trial of the Spanish agents.