Spain considers dropping case vs. ex-Bush officials

Spain's top prosecutor rejected going ahead with a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials including ex-attorney general Alberto Gonzales.

Spanish Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido said that the case against Gonzales and co. for their role in torturing detainees at Guantanamo Bay had "no merit" and that the case should be directed at those “who physically carried…out" the abuses. Furthermore, she warned that the case could easily become a “toy in the hands of people who are trying to do a political action."

The ultimate decision on whether or not the case moves forward rests on the shoulders of investigating judge Baltasar Garzon. He is best-known for bringing charges against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998 though he has also led investigations against abuses in Argentina and El Salvador.

Politics may come into play since Spain is eager to strengthen ties with the U.S.:

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is seeking to improve U.S. relations, which have been strained since he pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq in 2004 after al-Qaeda bomb attacks in Madrid. Zapatero, a Socialist, met President Barack Obama on April 5 in Prague, where Obama said he was happy to call Zapatero a “friend.”

Image- BBC News (“Some (Gitmo) inmates were subjected to controversial interrogation techniques.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, CNN, Bloomberg, AFP, The Latin Americanist