The US authorities claimed that earlier this year they foiled a purported assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, alleging the involvement of Indian government officials/agents in the act. Additionally, the US argued that this purported attempt to kill ‘US citizens’ on US soil by India or its government officials impinged on its sovereign authority. 

While the US allegations are still under investigation, Spanish media has revealed that at least two US officials/agents were caught bribing Spain’s secret service officers. Subsequently, they were discreetly expelled from Madrid on Thursday (7th December), as reported by Spanish media El Pais. 

As per reports, at least two U.S. agents stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, who were directly involved in recruiting spies of Spain’s Secret Service CNI, have been discreetly expelled from Spain. The revelation that US officials were bribing two agents from Spain’s CNI intelligence service to provide classified information has led to diplomatic friction between Madrid and Washington. 

According to a Spanish media report, Spain’s Foreign as well as Defence Minister reprimanded the US ambassador separately and sought an explanation for such an act from the US side against its NATO ally and friendly nation, Spain. Responsible for overseeing the CNI, Spanish Minister of Defense Margarita Robles summoned the U.S. ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, to her office and sought an explanation.

According to sources, when U.S. Ambassador Reynoso was summoned by Minister Robles, she said that she was not aware of the case. She allegedly claimed that the U.S. agents who had bribed the Spanish spies were working independently of her. She argued that the purported program was launched before current President Joe Biden assumed power at the White House and for reasons unknown, it had been maintained until now.

The same sources added that Reynoso apologised for what happened and promised utmost collaboration with the ongoing investigation. The case has left the U.S. in an embarrassing situation, the report noted.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, also spoke with Reynoso and expressed the Spanish government’s unease over the revelations, the report added citing government sources. 

Albares agreed to expel at least two American spies who were involved in recruiting and bribing the CNI agents. However, some sources claim that there were more spies. The spies were expelled discreetly, as Washington rushed to remove them. 

The report added that such actions are considered hostile and are not expected between two allies. Additionally, it also pointed out that the case is a very serious matter as it involves recruiting secret agents of a host state to betray their own country which is considered an openly hostile act. It noted that such actions may be taken with enemy or adversary governments, but never with friends and allies.

The Spanish double agents were arrested in September but the court kept it secretive

According to El Confidencial news website, the two CNI agents were arrested in September for leaking top secret data to the US. The investigation started when during a CNI security check, it was found that the two Spanish agents had accessed classified information not pertinent to their duties, and they were not authorised to know. 

Subsequently, the internal investigation confirmed that at least one of the agents had been recruited by U.S. spies to gather secret information in return for a large sum of money. The agent was positioned as a middle-ranking official in the secret service. 

According to CNI sources, one of the agents held the role of an area chief within a section of the intelligence division, while the other agent worked as their assistant. 

After concluding its investigation, the CNI director, Esperanza Casteleiro, brought the case to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office at Spain’s highest court, the National Assembly. The case was subsequently transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Madrid, as deemed the competent authority. The Madrid tribunal then complained to the investigative courts of Plaza de Castilla.

As per reports citing sources, it was during this period that the Spanish government opted to disclose the investigation’s findings to the United States and condemned the incident.

Launching a scathing attack on their ‘ally’ US, sources noted, “What do Americans have to pay for if we give them everything they ask for?” 

They asserted that Spain openly collaborates with the United States, and always exchanges information. The sources added that the number of times in which Spain has refused to share information of interest to Washington is “between one and zero.”

Meanwhile, the Madrid court sealed the investigation, issuing orders for the arrest of the two purported CNI spies and the search of their residences. Both individuals were subsequently taken to the Estremera prison module in Madrid. However, the CNI assistant was released last month but his superior remains incarcerated.

Both the arrested CNI agents working for the US are accused of the crime of revealing secrets. They could face a jail term of 6-12 years under Article 584 of the Penal Code. The rule punishes “a Spaniard who, with the purpose of helping a foreign power, association or international organization, procures, falsifies, disables or discloses information classified as reserved or secret, that is likely to harm national security or national defense.”

However, reports indicate that this is not the only instance where the Spanish secret service has reported one of its agents for espionage. In an earlier incident in 2007, the CNI initiated a case against former spy Roberto Flórez, who had served at the center from 1992 to 2004. The action was taken following the discovery of classified documentation in his residence and two apartments he owned in Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife. 

The CNI also confiscated a letter directed to the Russian secret services, wherein Flórez proposed collaboration in exchange for an initial payment of $200,000. While there was no conclusive evidence that Flórez had handed over the classified documents, the Provincial Court of Madrid handed him a 12-year prison sentence in 2010. Subsequently, the Supreme Court reduced this sentence to nine years.