Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Spain

Overview:  Spain continued to respond effectively to the global terrorism threat in border and transportation security, countering terrorism financing, and countering violent extremism through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.  Spain remained on “high” national alert for terrorism throughout 2023, and temporarily reinforced its antiterrorism measures in October following the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict.  Spanish authorities continued to arrest individuals suspected of planning terrorist attacks, facilitating terrorist financing, and engaging in ISIS and al-Qa’ida-related recruitment and radicalization both online and in their communities.  Throughout 2023, Spanish counterterrorism cooperation with the United States was excellent.  There are approximately five detained Spanish nationals remaining in northeast Syria.  Spain repatriated two women and 13 children from northeast Syria in 2023 but declined to repatriate its detained nationals.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  On January 25 a Moroccan national, wielding a machete, carried out an attack that Spanish police linked to terrorism in two separate churches in Algeciras, killing one and injuring another.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  In 2023 the Spanish government continued to implement its National Strategy Against Terrorism.  The Ministry of Interior – through its Intelligence Center for Counterterrorism and Organized Crime and with contributions from the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Justice – developed the strategy to align with the four pillars of CT strategies of the EU and the UN:  prevent, protect, pursue, and respond.  The strategy includes measures to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks against soft targets such as hotels, stadia, tourist resorts, and cultural sites in line with UNSCR 2341 on protecting critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.  Throughout 2023, Spain continued to conduct counterterrorism activities at its borders, developing biographic and biometric screening programs, implementing airport transit visa requirements, conducting examinations on passengers suspected of having links to terrorism, and coordinating container screening on high-risk shipments.  Spanish and U.S. authorities collaborated closely in efforts to mitigate threats related to third-country nationals with nexus to terrorism transiting through Spanish airports to reach the Western Hemisphere with the intention to reach the United States.  Spanish authorities reported that they carried out 36 CT operations and detained 78 suspects on terrorism-related charges in 2023.

Significant law enforcement actions related to CT included these four:

• On January 11 the Spanish National Police, in cooperation with Moroccan counterparts, dismantled an ISIS recruiting cell operating in both Spain and Morocco.
• On October 23 the Spanish National Police, with support from Europol, arrested four persons across Spain for links to terrorism and terrorist recruitment.
• On November 7 the Spanish National Police arrested 14 individuals in several cities throughout Spain linked to the Pakistani fundamentalist movement Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan for terrorism.
• On November 15 the Spanish National Police arrested an imam in Badajoz and five others across Spain for committing terrorism-related crimes.

Spain is a member of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which requires broad counterterrorism partnership, including routine information sharing and border screening cooperation.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Spain is a member of the Financial Action Task Force, and its Financial Intelligence Unit, the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses (or SEPBLAC), is a member of the Egmont Group.  In its capacity as Council of the European Union president (July 1 through December 31), Spain advanced important conversations on countering the financing of terrorism, including the establishment of an EU-wide authority for countering money laundering and financing of terrorism.  In November the Spanish National Police arrested 12 individuals charged with conducting fraud and facilitating terrorist financing to an al-Qa’ida affiliate in Syria.  On December 16 the Spanish National Police dismantled an ISIS support network for allegedly facilitating the financial transactions of ISIS branches in Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Maghreb, and Europe through international shipments and cryptocurrencies.

Countering Violent Extremism:  The Ministry of Interior continued to implement activities as part of Spain’s Plan for the Prevention, Protection, and Response to Terrorism.  This plan directly addresses CVE by reinforcing regional police cooperation to fight and prevent Islamic violent radicalization and lone-wolf attacks.  The plan specifically addresses jihadist terrorists, including returning foreign terrorist fighters affiliated with ISIS and al-Qa’ida.  The plan also identifies and supports deradicalization from violence programs for Spanish prisons.

International and Regional Cooperation:  Spain cooperated with regional partners on numerous CT investigations and arrests.  Throughout 2023, Spain contributed troops to EU training missions in Mali, the Central African Republic, and Somalia seeking to support stability and address security threats including terrorism in host nations.  Spain’s Guardia Civil continued leading the EU’s GAR-SI Sahel mission to build rapid response units within the Sahel’s gendarme and police forces to improve stability and reduce domestic terrorism.

On October 16 the United States and Spain launched a bilateral Working Group on the Sahel focused, in part, on increasing local capacity in the region to combat terrorism.  Spain is also a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum and a donor nation to the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund.  The country supports CT initiatives at the UN, the Council of Europe, NATO, and the OSCE.  Spain continues to support the 5+5 Defense Initiative bringing together countries in Europe (France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain) and North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia) to build capacity on CT maritime and aviation security and disaster management.  On June 6, Spain inaugurated a UN Counterterrorism Office in Madrid.  Spain joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in 2014 and is a member of the Coalition’s FTF Working Group, the Stabilization Working Group, the Communication Working Group, and the Counter-ISIS Finance Group.