US President Donald Trump has threatened Spain with trade sanctions, including tariffs, saying he is unhappy with its refusal to increase defense spending
to 5% and calling this decision disrespectful to NATO, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"I am very unhappy with Spain. "They're the only country that hasn't increased their spending to 5%, so I'm not happy with Spain," the US president told reporters at the White House.
"I've thought about putting trade sanctions on them through tariffs because of what they've done, and I think I might do that," Trump added, referring to Spain as the only country in the 32-member alliance that hasn't committed to increasing military spending to 5% of its gross domestic product, as agreed by NATO leaders in June.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez secured an exemption for Spain from that commitment at the last minute, saying his country would spend only 2.1%, which he called "sufficient and realistic."
Spain says it is making up for the lower spending with a strong participation in NATO missions, including the deployment of troops in Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, to slain activist Charlie Kirk, a prominent figure in the conservative movement before his assassination last month, Reuters reported.
"Today we are here to honor and remember a fearless freedom fighter, a beloved leader who inspired the next generation like no other," Trump said at a formal ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
Kirk, founder of "Turning Point USA", was shot and killed on September 10 while speaking at a public event at "Utah Valley University" in the US state of Utah - a murder that shocked the country and renewed debates about political violence.
Kirk's murder became a mobilizing factor for the Republican president, who used it to motivate his supporters and demand radical measures from the state against what he calls "radical left-wing extremism".
At the same time, Trump downplays violence by right-wing groups, insisting that political violence is primarily a problem rooted in the ranks of the left. But experts say political violence is bipartisan, with most attacks historically inspired by right-wing ideology.
U.S. authorities have so far found no evidence that the suspect in Kirk's shooting was acting in collusion with any group.
The ceremony was attended by a number of top Republican lawmakers, media figures and Trump allies, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rick Scott, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The U.S. government has revoked the visas of at least 50 Mexican politicians and government officials as part of the Trump administration's campaign against drug cartels and their alleged political allies, Reuters reported, citing Mexican officials.
The agency notes that while several of these cases were made public, the visa cancellations are much more widespread than previously known.
According to three former U.S. ambassadors, previous U.S. administrations have also canceled visas in this way, but not to such an extent, which they said is indicative of President Donald Trump's willingness to use diplomatic tools to achieve his political goals.
The move sent a silent shockwave through Mexico's political elite, whose members regularly travel to the United States and need visas to do so. It also marks a significant expansion of the US drug crackdown, with the Trump administration now targeting sitting politicians, a matter usually considered too sensitive from a diplomatic perspective.
A senior Mexican politician said that at least 50 people who are members of the ruling National Renewal Movement (MORENA) party have had their visas for the US revoked, as have dozens of officials from other political parties.
Reuters was unable to identify the names of the Mexican officials whose visas were revoked. So far, only four have publicly confirmed that they have lost their U.S. visas, including the governor of the Mexican state of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Avila, who has strongly denied any ties to organized crime.
The United States is not required to provide an explanation for revoking a person's visa, and the threshold for doing so is much lower than for imposing sanctions or prosecuting them.