Spanish officials have criticized President Trump’s investigation into the death of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo Ramos after she was allowed to die by euthanasia. Castillo Ramos was an alleged rape victim and qualified for euthanasia due to severe mental suffering, as she became paralyzed after attempting to commit suicide in 2022.
Spain’s Health Minister, Monica Garcia, wrote on X, “In the United States, thousands of people die each year without health insurance, while Trump supports and carries out human rights violations between Gaza and Iran. He should stop feeding the ultra-international agenda by sticking his nose into every single place.” Garcia argued that Spain is a “serious country, with a solid healthcare system and a rights framework that protects and cares for all people, including those who choose to request help to die with dignity in legally regulated contexts, evaluated by clinical committees and endorsed by the courts.”
She shared a screenshot of an article detailing the probe.
Catalonia’s president, Salvador Illa Roca, also defended Spain’s healthcare system. “We will defend with all firmness the professionals of our healthcare system, both men and women, against any malicious attack that seeks to impair their value and performance,” he wrote. “We defend the right to a dignified death after approving one of the most advanced and exemplary legal frameworks in the world.”
The officials’ statements follow a leaked cable reported by the New York Post that detailed the State Department’s concern that “Ms. Castillo was repeatedly sexually assaulted while under state care and that no perpetrators have been brought to justice.”
“We are also aware of reports that Ms. Castillo expressed hesitancy to undergo euthanasia in her final hours, but that these indications were ignored,” the cable read. “This case raises serious concerns about the application of Spain’s euthanasia law, particularly in cases involving psychiatric conditions and non-terminal suffering.”
“We are investigating allegations that the sexual assault of Ms. Castillo was perpetrated by individuals of a migration background,” it said. “Mass and illegal migration is a human rights concern, and Spain’s facilitation of mass and illegal migration represents a dangerous threat to the rights and liberties of Spanish citizens, as well as broader regional and global security.”
