SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain," the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday. (Photo: CIA)
Spanish Investigators Believe CIA Was Involved in Violent Attack on North Korean Embassy: Report
The assailants reportedly tied up embassy staffers, put bags over their heads, beat them, and interrogated them for hours
Mar 13, 2019
Two individuals involved in a violent attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid have reportedly been linked by Spanish authorities to the CIA.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, which first reported the findings of Madrid investigators, "two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the U.S. intelligence agency."
"Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain," El Pais reported on Wednesday.
The CIA has denied involvement in the attack. But, Spanish government sources told El Pais that the agency's story was "unconvincing."
The attack on the North Korean embassy occurred on Feb. 22, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for a summit in Hanoi.
According to reporting from the BBC, ten masked men broke into the embassy in the middle of the afternoon and took at least eight staffers hostage. One woman was eventually able to climb out of a second-story window and contact Spanish police.
None of the individuals believed to have been involved in the attack have been apprehended.
El Pais reported that Spanish investigators have ruled out the possibility that the attack was carried out by "common criminals."
"The operation was perfectly planned as if it were carried out by a military cell,'"El Pais reported, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation. "The assailants knew what they were looking for, taking only computers and mobile phones."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Two individuals involved in a violent attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid have reportedly been linked by Spanish authorities to the CIA.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, which first reported the findings of Madrid investigators, "two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the U.S. intelligence agency."
"Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain," El Pais reported on Wednesday.
The CIA has denied involvement in the attack. But, Spanish government sources told El Pais that the agency's story was "unconvincing."
The attack on the North Korean embassy occurred on Feb. 22, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for a summit in Hanoi.
According to reporting from the BBC, ten masked men broke into the embassy in the middle of the afternoon and took at least eight staffers hostage. One woman was eventually able to climb out of a second-story window and contact Spanish police.
None of the individuals believed to have been involved in the attack have been apprehended.
El Pais reported that Spanish investigators have ruled out the possibility that the attack was carried out by "common criminals."
"The operation was perfectly planned as if it were carried out by a military cell,'"El Pais reported, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation. "The assailants knew what they were looking for, taking only computers and mobile phones."
Two individuals involved in a violent attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid have reportedly been linked by Spanish authorities to the CIA.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, which first reported the findings of Madrid investigators, "two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the U.S. intelligence agency."
"Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain," El Pais reported on Wednesday.
The CIA has denied involvement in the attack. But, Spanish government sources told El Pais that the agency's story was "unconvincing."
The attack on the North Korean embassy occurred on Feb. 22, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for a summit in Hanoi.
According to reporting from the BBC, ten masked men broke into the embassy in the middle of the afternoon and took at least eight staffers hostage. One woman was eventually able to climb out of a second-story window and contact Spanish police.
None of the individuals believed to have been involved in the attack have been apprehended.
El Pais reported that Spanish investigators have ruled out the possibility that the attack was carried out by "common criminals."
"The operation was perfectly planned as if it were carried out by a military cell,'"El Pais reported, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation. "The assailants knew what they were looking for, taking only computers and mobile phones."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.