SPAIN has hit back at US president Donald Trump after he ordered a probe into the landmark euthanasia case of a young Spanish woman.
Monica Garcia, the Spanish minister of health, told Trump to ‘stop sticking his nose in’ following the announcement that the US embassy in Madrid would launch an investigation into the death of paraplegic gang-rape victim Noelia Castillo.
Castillo, 25, a victim of repeated sexual assaults, chose to die by euthanasia last Thursday after a suicide attempt left her paralysed. According to a leaked diplomatic cable obtained by American newspaper The Post, Trump’s probe was ordered amid concerns over ‘systemic human rights failings’ that led Castillo to seek assisted suicide.
“In the United States, thousands of people die every year without health insurance, while Trump supports and carries out human rights violations in Gaza and Iran,” Garcia wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“He should stop fuelling the international ultra agenda by sticking his nose into everything,” she added.
The confrontation marks the latest escalation in rising tensions between Spain and the US.
Trump and Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, have been trading blows since the latter emerged as one of the first European leaders to challenge US war efforts in Iran.
According to the leaked cable, the Trump administration expressed concern that Castillo’s death was allowed to proceed even after she reportedly showed hesitation in her final hours.
“We are aware of reports that Ms Castillo expressed hesitancy about undergoing euthanasia in her final hours, and that these indications were ignored,” the administration said.
“This case raises serious concerns about the application of Spain’s euthanasia law, particularly in cases involving psychiatric conditions and non-terminal suffering.”
US investigators were also reportedly instructed to examine the migration background of Castillo’s rapists, although there is no information suggesting they were migrants.
The State Department asked US Embassy officials to convey these concerns to the Spanish government by April 3.
Castillo died last week wearing her “prettiest dress,” after being given a lethal combination of three drugs that stopped her heart within 20 minutes.
Her father had tried to stop the euthanasia for 18 months but ultimately lost his legal battle.
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