THERE was growing speculation in Madrid last night that the centre-right Government of José María Aznar, defeated by the socialists in elections in March, supported secret plans to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony.
The plot involved the overthrow of the dictator, President Obiang Nguema, and the installation of Severo Moto, a veteran political exile in Spain who is backed by rich British businessmen.
Although no links have surfaced between Spaniards who knew about the alleged coup plot and Sir Mark Thatcher, statements made after the main group of mercenaries were detained in Zimbabwe would appear to confirm Spain’s clandestine involvement. As the mercenaries were allegedly completing their plans to topple Mr Obiang, two Spanish warships slipped out of the Rota naval base near Cádiz in January.
The frigate Canarias was supported by a combat vessel Patiño with 500 crack troops and marines on board. No official announcement was made but those on board knew they were headed for Equatorial Guinea. Since Rota is a Nato base, used by the United States, one would assume that the US knew of the mission as well as their close allies, the British. Spain had not sent warships to Equatorial Guinea since it gained independence in 1968 — well before oil was found.
But someone, South Africa is a suspect, told the Spanish press. The two warships docked in the Canary Islands and the apparent objective of their voyage was aborted.
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On January 31, Ana Palacio, the then Foreign Minister, claimed that the unannounced visit by the Spanish navy to Equatorial Guinea had been postponed by the government and that the ships “were not a war mission but one of co-operation”.
Eduardo Zaplana, Señor Aznar’s government spokesman, said that it had been considered “opportune” to postpone the visit “until the elections” had taken place in Guinea. He also said that the warships had been diverted “because of the misunderstanding produced by press reports”. Spain’s El País newspaper reported at the time that Equatorial Guinea was rife with rumours of an attempted coup prior to the April elections.
This week in Spain, various media reports suggest that Mr Moto, the veteran leader-in-exile of Equatorial Guinea, who has lived in Madrid for many years, was either on board one of the warships or had been flown to Mali in anticipation of a triumphant return to his fatherland.
One report suggested that the Spaniards were going to grant Mr Obiang exile in Spain and arrange for his transfer to either the Canaries of the mainland.
Yesterday neither the Spanish Foreign Ministry nor Mr Moto’s press office would comment on the mission of the warships or plans to replace Obiang with Moto.
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“Severo Moto had nothing to do with the coup,“ his spokesman told The Times.