Spain's participation in Operation Guardian of Prosperity in the Red Sea, announced last Monday by the United States Secretary of Defense, could be carried out without express authorization from the Congress of Deputies, if carried out as an expansion of the tasks of Operation Atalanta, undertaken by the European Union Naval Force (Eunavfor) in 2008 to prevent piracy in the Gulf of Aden, especially off the coast of Somalia, a problem that became especially acute recently. 15 years. “Spain will take at the time and taking into account all the concurrent circumstances, particularly within the EU framework, the appropriate decisions regarding a possible participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian,” the Defense Staff announced last night.
The participation of troops from the Spanish Navy in Operation Atalanta was authorized by Congress, by a large majority, on January 21, 2009. The connection between Atalanta and Guardian of Prosperity began to be launched yesterday at the initiative of Josep Borrell, vice president of the European Commission and High Representatives of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Borrell announced yesterday that EU member countries will cooperate with Operation Guardian of Prosperity through the Atalanta device. “Atalanta has already begun to cooperate with the Prosperity Guardian operation in the southern Red Sea and hopes to provide even more support, with the appropriate capabilities,” Spanish Navy Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, who last November 23 he was appointed commander of Atalanta.
Soon 15 years ago, Congress authorized the sending of troops to the Gulf of Aden to help protect merchant ships and fishing vessels that were being harassed by Somali pirates. The situation became critical. The collapse of state structures in Somalia, one of the poorest countries in Africa, favored two barbaric phenomena: some Western countries took advantage of the lack of controls to carry out toxic discharges into Somali waters, and artisanal fishermen organized themselves into pirate gangs to kidnap boats and collect ransoms. On October 3, 2009, when Operation Atalanta was already underway, Somali pirates kidnapped the 35 crew members of the Basque fishing boat Alakrana for 47 days, whom they released after collecting a ransom of 2.6 million euros.
Gradually, surveillance took over piracy, but operation Atalanta remains active and in recent weeks, coinciding with the attacks by the Houthi militias on vessels crossing the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, an uptick in piracy has been detected. in the Gulf of Aden, according to Spanish military sources. In recent days, the Spanish frigate Victoria has had to monitor the situation of the 45,000-ton Bulgarian cargo ship Ruen, allegedly hijacked off the northern coast of Puntland, in Somali waters. Currently, the pirates' preferred target is World Food Program merchant ships carrying aid to Somalia, Sudan and Kenya.
The Bab el Mandeb Strait is within the radius of action of Operation Atalanta, but there is one point that has not yet been fully clarified and that refers to the military scope of the operation announced on Monday by the United States. Escort merchant ships to support their security while they cross the Red Sea, or directly attack the Houthi guerrilla bases on the western coast of Yemen, opposite Bab el Mandeb, to nullify the offensive capacity of this militia supervised by Iran? Atalanta was conceived to protect freedom of navigation.
