The World Briefly

December 02, 2022

Lethal Mail

Spain

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Spanish authorities stepped up security at government buildings Thursday after finding six letter bombs directed at high-profile targets, including Spain’s prime minister and the Ukrainian ambassador in Madrid, Reuters reported.

Officials said initial investigations showed that the homemade devices were sent from within the country. The devices were delivered in brown packages containing a flammable powder and tripwire that create “sudden flames” rather than an explosion, they added.

News of the letter bombs emerged Wednesday after police said a security official at Ukraine’s embassy in Spain was slightly injured after opening a package. The device was addressed to Ukrainian Ambassador Serhii Pohoreltsev.

Later in the day, authorities discovered another package at the headquarters of Spanish weapons manufacturer Instalaza in Zaragoza, in northeastern Spain. The arms company manufactures rocket launchers that Spain has supplied to Ukraine to fend off Russia’s invasion.

On Thursday, Spain’s Interior Ministry announced that an “envelope with pyrotechnic material” addressed to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was discovered at the leader’s residence last week.

As authorities investigate the packages, government representatives said they don’t intend to raise Spain’s terrorist threat level – currently set at the second-highest level because of attacks by Muslim extremists around Europe in the past decade.

Following the embassy explosion, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ordered all of Kyiv’s diplomatic missions to strengthen their security.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Spain released a statement condemning “any threat or terrorist act” in relation to the letter bombs, “particularly directed at a diplomatic mission.”

This story originally appeared in the December 02, 2022 newsletter, New Money, Old Problems.