The Spanish paper El Pais reports that the US quietly withdrew two staff workers at the request of Spain’s government.

Spain has ejected two staff workers at the United States embassy, following allegations that they attempted to bribe Spanish intelligence officers in exchange for secrets.

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday that Spain had filed a complaint to the US, but that the incident would not harm diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Spain and the United States are friends, allies and partners,” she told reporters. “When there are issues that may affect us, they are discussed and dealt with, but in no way does that influence the relations we have.”

The newspaper El Pais reported that two unnamed embassy workers were discreetly removed at the request of Madrid, following an investigation that concluded that they had obtained information from Spanish intelligence agents for a “large sum”.

Robles confirmed that a judicial inquiry was looking into “irregular conduct” at the CNI, Spain’s intelligence agency. The content of the material shared with the two embassy workers is not clear.

read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/7/spain-expels-two-us-embassy-staff-for-allegedly-bribing-intelligence-agents