Washington, Oct 29 (EFE) The US has asked Spain to persuade other European countries to accept Guantanamo detainees, Spanish Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said here.
Spain is among a handful of European nations that have agreed to accept people released from the detention centre for suspected terrorists at the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said Spain was specially suited to lobby its partners in Europe on this matter “as a country that has directly experienced jihadist terrorism”, Caamano said Wednesday.

Caamano was referring to the March 2004 Madrid train bombings that left nearly 200 dead.

Holder reaffirmed the Obama administration’s determination to close Guantanamo and hailed Spain’s commitment to accept two detainees, Caamano said, adding that Spanish officials are currently reviewing “some additional files” with an eye towards possibly accepting more former prisoners.

Nations of the 27-member European Union should each assume part of the “responsibility” of helping the US close the prison at Guantanamo, Caamano added.

What Holder is asking, Caamano said, is that Spain “lend a hand to make (other EU countries) see that it’s not just an internal problem of one country, rather (one) of global scale and, thus, by helping (US) we are helping everyone.”

The Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said that Spain will only accept Guantanamo detainees who are not facing charges and have no criminal record in any EU country.

Madrid takes over the EU’s rotating presidency in January.

Spanish official sources pointed out earlier this month that once Obama made the decision to close Guantanamo, the US authorities told EU governments that some 50 of the detainees had been certified as free of terrorist ties and “cleared for release”.