The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, the man whom Donald Trump has tasked, in his own words, to "cut off all dealings with Spain", has once again criticized our country in a TV interview on Wednesday. He defined Spain as a "freeloader" or "free rider" within NATO, stating that Spain "acted terribly" during the week and even accused them of "putting Americans' lives at risk" by refusing to allow the use of the Morón and Rota bases for the bombing of Iran.
However, Bessent avoided commenting on the possibility of the US government's complaints resulting in a trade embargo, as suggested by the president in the Oval Office on Tuesday. When specifically asked about it during an interview on CNBC, Bessent dodged details on whether they were truly considering something as drastic, which the US has only used against regimes like Cuba, North Korea, or Iran itself in its history. He limited himself to criticizing the position of the Pedro Sánchez government.
"President Trump's frustration with the Spanish government is justified, that first of all, they have been terrible actors. They are the only NATO member not meeting their NATO requirement. That's known as a free rider. The Spanish government is intentionally taking advantage of the US government and all other NATO allies who have stepped up. NATO has never been stronger, thanks to President Trump, and the Spaniards do not want to pay their fair share. They say something like: 'Well, you know, we have the Pyrenees between us and Russia." Bessent said.
He then addressed the most recent source of anger, the decision regarding the bases, which President Sánchez justified again today, stating that Spain will not be dragged into a conflict in the Middle East as in 2003.
"And then it was unacceptable over the weekend that the Spanish were highly uncooperative regarding the U.S. bases and what we could do with our planes as we began executing on Operation Epic Fury. Anything that slows down our ability to engage and prosecute this war in the fastest, most effective manner puts American lives at risk. The Spanish put American lives at risk." Bessent concluded.