Spanish Podemos claims Moroccan Sahara policy puts Canary Islands at risk

Podemos MEP Irene Montero has claimed that the Spanish Government’s support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the Moroccan Sahara “endangers” the Canary Islands and makes Spain “complicit in international crimes.”

Speaking from Algiers during an interview with Canary Islands Television’s Canal Red, Montero said that Spain’s backing of the Moroccan plan threatens both regional stability and Spanish sovereignty in nearby waters.

Montero, the political secretary of Podemos, said that Spain is neglecting its role as an administering power of the Sahrawi people.

She described supporting Morocco’s plan as endorsing the “illegal occupation” of the territory, which she said could have “dangerous” consequences for the Canary Islands due to their proximity.

The MEP also claimed that Morocco shows “expansionist ambitions” and is a key ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, whom she described as a threat to international law.

She criticized the Spanish Government for “turning a blind eye” to the situation, claiming the country is losing international credibility.

Montero also claimed that Moroccan forces prevented Spanish officials from accessing the Moroccan Sahara, forcing her to travel to the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria to continue her work.

Montero further said that Spain should reconsider its NATO membership and seek alliances that respect international law, peace, and human rights. “We cannot allow U.S. imperialism to impose terror on the world and endanger our countries,” she claimed.

Podemos has repeatedly rejected the Moroccan autonomy plan on the grounds that it abandons the neutral UN-based approach and essentially abandons the Sahrawi to Moroccan control.

The party says the plan does not satisfy the UN consensus on holding a referendum that includes independence and instead implicitly accepts Morocco’s control over the territory.

After the UN Security Council’s 31 October 2025 resolution (2797), which renewed the UN peacekeeping mission and described Morocco’s autonomy plan as a basis for negotiations, Podemos doubled down on its long-standing position that only a UN-organized referendum can be a just solution.

Morocco, however, maintains that its Autonomy Plan offers a realistic framework for peace and development in the Moroccan Sahara, guaranteeing self-governance for the Sahrawi people while protecting Morocco’s territorial integrity.