| 2022 Spain letter bomb attacks | |
|---|---|
| Location | Madrid andZaragoza, Spain |
| Date | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24)- 1 December 2022 (2022-12-01) |
| Target | Pedro Sánchez,Instalaza,Ukrainian andAmerican embassies,Torrejón Air Base,Ministry of Defence |
Attack type | Letter bombing |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrators | Pompeyo González Pascual |
In late November and early December 2022, a number ofletter bombs were mailed to locations across Spain. Packages were received at high-profile individuals and locations, including thePrime Minister of Spain'sMoncloa residence, theUkrainian andU.S. embassies inMadrid,Torrejon Air Base, and the arms manufacturerInstalaza. One person was injured in the attacks—a security officer at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid.
On 24 November 2022, a letter bomb, addressed to thePrime Minister of SpainPedro Sánchez, arrived atMoncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain. The bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion, with no injuries reported.[1][2]
On 30 November 2022, further letter bombs were mailed. The first was mailed to theUkrainian embassy in Madrid, exploding when a security officer opened it in the garden of the embassy, leaving a "very small wound" on one finger.[3][4] Arms manufacturerInstalaza, in Zaragoza, received a similar package hours later.[2][5][6]
On 1 December 2022, before dawn, another letter bomb was intercepted after being detected by a scanner, at theTorrejon Air Base near Madrid. The package was addressed to theEuropean Union Satellite Centre at the base.[2] On the same day, an additional letter bomb was received at theDefence Ministry and was defused.[1] A sixth letter bomb was sent to the US embassy in Madrid and was intercepted at around 12.30 pm local time.[7] It was subsequently "safely detonated."[8][2]
Each of the letter bombs were reportedly similar, in brown envelopes addressed to the heads of each institution. The devices consisted of loose gunpowder with an electrical ignition mechanism, resulting in a burning, rather than exploding effect.[1]
An official, Rosa Serrano, told radio stationSER that the packages sent to both the Ukrainian embassy and Instalaza had the same return address.[2]
In response to the letter bomb attacks, Spanish authorities increased security measures at public and diplomatic buildings.[1][9] TheForeign Minister of UkraineDmytro Kuleba ordered that the security of all Ukrainian embassies be increased, and urged Spain to investigate the attack.[3] Spain's High Court was reported to have opened an investigation for a possible case of terrorism.[10]
In December 2022, Spanish authorities disclosed they believed the letters were postmarked from the city ofValladolid.[11]
According to a January 2023New York Times report citing unnamed U.S. officials, Spanish investigators and their Western foreign counterparts have come to believe that the letter bomb attacks were perpetrated by theRussian Imperial Movement acting on behalf of Russian intelligence.[12] U.S. officials had also suspected Russian military intelligence officers of directing associates of a white supremacist militant group to carry out the attacks.[13]
On 26 January 2023, a 74-year-old Spanish citizen was arrested by Spanish police on suspicion of sending the letter bombs. The Spanish Interior Ministry reported that there were no indications of any association with far-right organizations or Russia. They stated that they believed the suspect was responsible for making and sending all six letter bombs himself, but that the possibility of "participation or influence of other people" was not ruled out.[13] On 23 July 2024, theAudiencia Nacional sentenced the suspect, identified as Pompeyo González Pascual, to 18 years' imprisonment for sending the bombs.[14]
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