Overview
- The leaked State Department cable, reported Tuesday by the New York Post, instructed the U.S. Embassy in Madrid to gather information by April 3 on alleged assaults while Noelia Castillo was under state care and on reported last‑hour doubts about proceeding.
- President of Catalonia Salvador Illa and Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García publicly backed the clinicians and the legal process, saying Spain’s safeguards were followed and telling Washington not to intrude.
- The foundation Abogados Cristianos filed a criminal complaint in a Barcelona investigating court against the doctor who processed the case, alleging prevarication due to a conflict of interest because she was also a local transplant coordinator; organ donation did not occur.
- Independent medical reviewers and the Catalan oversight commission approved Castillo’s request in July 2024, courts repeatedly upheld her capacity through 2025–2026, and the European Court of Human Rights rejected emergency appeals in early March, after which she died by euthanasia on March 26 in Sant Pere de Ribes.
- Spanish outlets note disputes in the reported cable’s narrative, pointing out that claims about state guardianship and “last‑minute doubts” rest partly on a July 2024 note that a judge later deemed invalid because it was written under pressure while Castillo was not fully aware.