During a public walkabout in Faro, Paulo Raimundo stressed that Portugal “is a sovereign country” and “cannot afford” to allow planes, specifically from the United States, to land on national soil “without authorization”.
“Someone will have to explain this, and it is precisely because someone will have to explain this that we have called both the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Defense Minister to the Assembly of the Republic,” Paulo Raimundo announced.
The secretary-general of the PCP argued that “there is no point in them shifting responsibility to each other” because “the responsibility lies with the Government” and therefore “the Government will have to explain”.
When asked if he believes that the National Defense Minister should resign, as suggested by Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares, Paulo Raimundo remarked that bringing about the consequence of Nuno Melo’s resignation now would only have “one consequence”.
“He would avoid explaining what happened, and we do not want him to avoid explaining it. The Defense Minister and the Foreign Affairs Minister will have to explain,” he stated.
Paulo Raimundo recalled that “this is not the first time” a situation of this kind has occurred, alluding to an incident in October 2024 involving a Portuguese-flagged ship transporting explosive materials to Israel. He emphasized that Portugal cannot become a “banana republic”.
“I inaugurated here in Algarve an expression that I have repeated several times, you have heard me, that Portugal cannot be transformed into a ‘tourism resort’, although tourism is important, nor much less into a banana republic. Therefore, this cannot happen,” he defended.
In two requests submitted to the Assembly of the Republic, the PCP Parliamentary Group asserts that the landing of American planes at the Lajes Base “demonstrates once again the complicity of the PSD/CDS Government in the crimes that Israel commits with the sponsorship of the United States of America and the European Union (EU)”.
“In light of the unacceptable situation presented, the PCP Parliamentary Group urgently requests” parliamentary hearings with Paulo Rangel and Nuno Melo, as stated in the requests.
According to a statement released this Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE), overseen by Paulo Rangel, three American aircraft made a stopover at the Azorean Lajes base en route to Israel, without prior communication to the Portuguese Government, a “procedural failure” for which the Portuguese diplomat seeks to establish accountability.
The note mentions that this operation had “communication and tacit authorization (i.e., by the passage of the respective period)” and the communication had already received a favorable opinion from the AAN (National Aeronautical Authority), under the Ministry of National Defense, overseen by Nuno Melo.
The MNE emphasizes that “the stopover and overflight of three American aircraft for delivery to Israel,” which occurred on April 22, does not mean “the commitment undertaken by the Ministry or the Government in this matter has been strictly violated,” referring to the arms sale embargo and the transit through national territory of military material to Israel, determined by Luís Montenegro’s executive.
[Story updated at 13:14]
