The No to War that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, tried to revitalize on Wednesday at 9 in the morning lasted only 26 hours. The time that elapsed until the Ministry of Defense reported that it was sending its best frigate of the F-100 class, the Cristóbal Colón, to Cyprus.
It is a type of ship that acts as an escort for aircraft carriers. A steel giant of 6,000 tons. Spain has five warships that have been undergoing modernization since last year and were pioneers at the beginning of the century. They were the first with the Aegis system to track and guide missiles, making them ships capable of detecting and tracking more than 90 mobile targets and directing anti-aircraft and surface missiles. In addition, they have a ballistic steel protection hull and the multifunction radar SPY-1D (V) provides them with great anti-aircraft warfare capability. The Cristóbal Colón is the most modern of its class, the last one to be launched.
And it is now also the symbol of the Government's shift, executed this Thursday. The backstory reinforces the depth of this change in strategy.
On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would send his aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to Cyprus. This decision meant that the ship, which was heading towards the Baltic Sea and was north of Galicia, would turn around. Consequently, its escort, which included the Cristóbal Colón, also had to return. On Wednesday, both ships, along with the rest of the French naval force, changed course. But at that time, there was still no contradiction with the Moncloa's position, which remained in conflict with the United States to the point of denying the rapprochement announced by Trump's spokesperson.
Spain had not yet decided to join the defense of Europe, and the Cristóbal Colón was still in time to leave the escort of the French flagship. Sánchez could have ordered it to divert to dock at its base in Ferrol, where it was scheduled to return on March 9. But that also meant snubbing Macron, hours after his support for the Spanish president against Trump's embargo threat. In those circumstances, Sánchez opted for the shift, and early on Thursday, he decided that the Cristóbal Colón would continue to escort the French aircraft carrier to Cyprus, where they are expected to arrive on March 10. In other words, Spain will participate in the mission to defend European territory during the war.
There is further evidence of the sudden and unexpected nature of the Government's shift, with the President as the driving force. Because on Thursday morning, Defense Minister Margarita Robles avoided specifying whether she would send resources to Cyprus. "Spain is a staunch ally committed to the United Nations, NATO, and the EU, and if EU members decide on certain missions to protect Cyprus," she said in an interview on La Ser before nine in the morning. She insisted, "If the EU or a series of countries, in defense of peace... Spain will take it into account and evaluate it." When asked again, for the third time, she was vague: "It will be evaluated, and what needs to be done will be made public at the appropriate time."
However, 24 minutes after ten in the morning - less than two hours after the interview and 26 hours after Sánchez's No to War - the Ministry reported that the Cristóbal Colón would participate as an escort to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on its way to Cyprus.
In order for the operation to proceed, as Defense reported, the Combat Supply Ship (BAC) Cantabria also comes into play. As confirmed by EL MUNDO, the ship was in the Canary Islands for maneuvers and is now heading north at full speed. The goal is for it to meet the group led by the Charles de Gaulle, preferably near Cádiz, to provide fuel to all the ships in the expedition. A maneuver that is carried out while in motion.
Approximately 190 military personnel, out of a capacity of 205 people, are on board the Cristóbal Colón, deployed for various exercises for over a month. There are about ten more Spaniards on board the Cantabria ship. Then around 200 military personnel will participate in this critical mission in Cyprus alongside the French flagship, which has nuclear capabilities - Sánchez had rejected joining Macron's nuclear deterrence strategy. The Charles de Gaulle also has four vertical launchers Sylver, housing the anti-aircraft missile Aster 15, and two vertical launchers on each side, two sextuple launchers Sadral, plus four double launchers Mistral.
The news of the deployment of the Spanish warship caused surprise, strangeness, and even discomfort within the PSOE and the Government. It was announced just 26 hours after Sánchez revived the cry of No to War as a banner to justify his rejection of the US using the Rota and Morón bases for its military actions. The juxtaposition of No to War and a warship created a discordant message for many and forced Robles and Albares to provide explanations, a sign that there was confusion, and the message was not clear.
The Defense Minister made multiple statements to support the decision to send the Cristóbal Colón to Cyprus, stating that it is part of a French group "with protection and possible evacuation tasks." "We are carrying out deterrence and peace missions." Faced with the controversy and perceived contradiction between words and actions, sources from Moncloa explained to this newspaper that sending the frigate "is not incompatible with the No to War; we do not participate in offensive military actions or war, we participate in the defense of Europe's borders, as always, such as with the border with Russia, and we will continue to do so."
The operation, according to government sources, would be "within the framework of international law and order," emphasizing that it is a mission led by France, and that Greek ships are also involved, to defend the integrity of a EU member country like Cyprus.
The situation was further complicated by an audio recording of the Defense Minister with the new US Ambassador to Spain in which, as claimed by the PP, Robles said: "No, no, I am with Trump..."; while in the audio released by the Government, she can be heard saying: "No, no, I am comfortable...", referring to the room temperature during her meeting with the US Ambassador on Wednesday. Moncloa accuses the PP of spreading "falsehoods."