White House says it doesn’t need Spain after airspace closure to US military, Spain’s Catholic Church signs deal to compensate abuse victims and more news on Tuesday March 31st.
White House says it doesn’t need Spain after airspace closure to US military
The White House told Spain on Monday that it does not need its assistance or that of any other country for the military operation in Iran, after the Spanish government ordered the closure of its airspace to US aircraft participating in the war.
“The US Armed Forces are meeting or exceeding all of their objectives under Operation Epic Fury and do not need assistance from Spain or anyone else,” a Trump administration official is quoted as saying in El País and other Spanish media under the condition of remaining anonymous.
The government of Pedro Sánchez, which has prohibited the use of the Rota and Morón military bases since the beginning of the war, has also ordered the closure of its airspace to US flights participating in the military operation, according to sources at the Ministry of Defence.
However, US aircraft operations from Rota and Morón are casting doubts over this official narrative, with over 70 flight plans already registered since the start of the war.
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Spain’s Catholic Church signs deal to compensate abuse victims
The Spanish government and the Catholic Church signed an agreement Monday to compensate victims of sexual abuse by clergy in cases that can no longer be pursued through the courts.
The deal for the Church to pay reparations comes ahead of a June 6-12 visit by Pope Leo XIV, in what will be the first papal visit to the country since 2011.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said the deal, first reached in January, is aimed at victims who are unable to pursue legal action because the crimes have proscribed or the alleged abusers have died.
After signing the agreement in Madrid, Bolaños called it “a day of justice” for “the thousands of victims who suffered sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and were not only left without support, but were doubted and forgotten”.
Under the system, compensation will be determined on a case-by-case basis rather than through fixed guidelines.
The process will involve representatives from the government, the Church and Spain’s ombudsman, with the state having final authority over decisions.
The Church will be responsible for paying the compensation awarded.
Bolaños described the model as “pioneering worldwide”, saying it ensures state oversight while requiring the Church to provide reparations to victims.
Spain to grant nationality to Venezuela opposition figure
Spain will grant citizenship to exiled Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo López, who faced a government attempt to strip him of his Venezuelan nationality, the foreign minister said on Monday.
“I confirm that Leopoldo López has made that request and tomorrow it will be submitted to cabinet” for deliberation, José Manuel Albares told RAC1 radio, adding that such matters “are always approved”.
This quicker, unconventional route “has been used because there are some documents that, due to the very special situation in which Leopoldo López finds himself, it was impossible for him to produce them”, Albares added.
Last year, the Venezuelan government asked the country’s Supreme Court to revoke Lopez’s citizenship for allegedly supporting a US military invasion of the country at a time when Washington had deployed warships to the Caribbean.
Lopez joined a failed military uprising in 2019 against the government of Venezuela’s former strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, and fled to Madrid in 2020 after taking refuge at the Spanish ambassador’s residence.
A former mayor of Caracas’s upmarket Chacao district, López had also been sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison in 2015 for allegedly inciting deadly anti-government protests.
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Spain summons Israeli envoy over Catholics’ Palm Sunday blockade
Spain summoned Israel’s top envoy to Madrid on Monday in protest over Israeli police blocking the Latin Patriarch from Christianity’s holiest site in Jerusalem, the foreign minister said.
“This cannot happen again. Catholic worship must be able to be celebrated normally,” Jose Manuel Albares told RAC1 radio after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was prevented from holding Palm Sunday mass at the Holy Sepulchre church.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joined a chorus of international condemnation on Sunday, denouncing an “attack on religious freedom”.
Israel said the cardinal would be allowed to regain access to the site and cited security concerns for the measure.
Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked the Middle East war on February 28, Israeli authorities have banned large gatherings, including at synagogues, churches and mosques.
Israel has been represented in Spain by a charge d’affaires since 2024, when it withdrew its ambassador after Madrid recognised a Palestinian state.
With additional reporting by Alex Dunham, The Local Spain’s Editor