A team from the United States Government visits Afghan refugees in Rota

USPA NEWS - This Friday, a team of the United States Government received the first Afghan evacuees at risk who arrived at the Rota naval base in Cádiz (Spain). According to a note distributed by the United States Government, the Government representatives worked together with the military personnel of the base "to assist them and facilitate their integration."

The United States has mobilized an unprecedented global effort to evacuate US citizens, personnel from partner countries, and vulnerable Afghans from Afghanistan. At the same time, “we are working closely with our allies and partners to accelerate evacuation and relocation operations. Our focus at this time is to evacuate people in distress,” reported a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Madrid. To do this, the United States is working with the Government of Spain to facilitate the transit of people leaving Afghanistan through US facilities at Spanish military bases on their way to more permanent resettlement sites in the United States or in third countries.

Spanish flights that evacuate vulnerable US citizens, Afghans and other evacuees have been arriving in Spain at Torrejón Air Base and, following the signing this Friday of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Spain, the US flights will soon arrive at the Rota Naval Base and Morón Air Base.

“We appreciate the collaboration of the Spanish Government for almost 70 years, which includes the last 20 years in Afghanistan. Our cooperation to safeguard those who have supported our collective efforts in Afghanistan is a testament to the strength of our bilateral ties and our commitment as allies in NATO. We reached this agreement with Spain based on our shared values and the common mission of getting people out of danger,” said the US Embassy in Madrid in a press release.