Spanish govt. ordered to explain 33 “secret” flights to Dominican Republic

Madrid.– The Spanish government has been ordered to provide full details of 33 flights that were made to the Dominican Republic between 2019 and the present day. The flights were initially only acknowledged by the Presidency of the Government, which claimed that five of them were related to official business, according to Spanish media.

However, the Council of Transparency and Good Government (CTBG) has ordered the government to provide information about all 33 flights, including the identity of the passengers, the purpose of the trips, and the cost to taxpayers.

The CTBG’s order comes after a seven-month investigation into the flights. In June, the Ministry of Defense provided the CTBG with a list of flights that were taken by high-ranking military officials. However, the CTBG found that the list was incomplete and did not include all of the flights that were made to the Dominican Republic.

The CTBG’s order is a major blow to the Spanish government, which has been accused of using public resources for partisan purposes. In 2023, President Pedro Sánchez was criticized for taking a government plane to the Galician Socialist Party convention.

The government has not yet provided any details about the 28 flights that it has not yet acknowledged. It is unclear whether the flights were related to official business or were for personal or political purposes.