VT Foreign Policy

Narcotic gangs in southern Spain use NATO assault rifles, which security forces fear were weapons destined for Kiev but were diverted to the international black market. Specialists estimate that there are up to 3.5 million unregistered weapons which were meant for Kiev, and the lack of controls is having a negative effect on Spain’s domestic security. The latest shooting between Spain’s Civil Guard agents and drug traffickers on May 22 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda is worrying. Armed only with their service pistols, the guards were met with bursts from automatic weapons and only after the arrival of reinforcements were they able to seize […] #Life Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/06/drug-traffickers-in-spain-attack-civil-guard-with-nato-weapons-meant-for-ukraine/?feed_id=12451

Spain will acquire combat-tested Israeli military material worth €207 million at a time when the Iberian country also promised to recognise a Palestinian state and cut military exports to Israel. Decisionmakers in Madrid justify cutting exports to Israel due to “massacres” against Palestinians, but at the same time, export weapons to Ukraine, contributing to the massacre of civilians in eastern Europe. The Ministry of Defence of Spain, through the General Subdirectorate of Acquisitions of Weapons and Materials, has initiated the purchase of Israeli-made weapons by awarding a contract to Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, one of the three largest military-industrial companies […] #Europe #Government #IsraelWaronPalestine #UkraineWar Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/03/spain-denounces-indiscriminate-massacres-in-gaza-but-exports-weapons-to-ukraine/?feed_id=10387

by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher Spain is supplying Ukraine with US-made TOW anti-tank missile systems, although the deliveries are not registered in documents. Madrid is evidently prioritising support for Ukraine in its war against Russia despite the conflict occurring nearly 3,000 kilometres away and poverty increasing in the Iberian country. The thank you video released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence shows that although the Spanish government has not yet announced the transfer, Madrid is providing anti-tank weapons to Ukrainian forces, with Spanish media verifying that the delivery was the TOW (C/C) LWL system, a light launcher produced […] #Europe #Featured #Government #Military #UkraineWar #WarZone Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/03/spanish-government-continues-to-supply-ukraine-with-weapons-despite-increasing-poverty/?feed_id=9699

by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher The Spanish proposal to give Kiev the benefits of Russian assets frozen in the EU generates confusion about their amount and creates doubt about its legality and presumed risks to financial stability. In addition, the EU will ruin its image as a destination for foreign assets if it continues this pursuit to finance Kiev with Russian assets. At the end of October, Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission is still working on a proposal to seize the profits derived from Russian state assets frozen in the EU and transfer […] #Featured #UkraineWar #WarZone #World Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2023/12/spains-plan-to-help-ukraine-with-russian-funds-in-eu-unviable/?feed_id=7480

I’m back! It’s a long story, some of it was covered in my most recent interview for VT Radio (link below). It included a wild ride in the middle of the night across spectacular Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands in an emergency ambulance, with blue lights flashing, to a general hospital with a cardiologist […] #Featured #Life Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2023/07/where-ive-been/?feed_id=2178

I’m back! It’s a long story, some of it was covered in my most recent interview for VT Radio (link below). It included a wild ride in the middle of the night across spectacular Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands in an emergency ambulance, with blue lights flashing, to a general hospital with a cardiologist […] #Life Read Full Article: https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2023/07/where-ive-been/?feed_id=2174