Spanish-United States Agreements of 1953
Spanish-United States Agreements of 1953
signed in Madrid on September 26 for a period of ten years. The agreements are subject to automatic renewal for two additional periods of five years each, unless one of the parties denounces them beforehand. The defense agreement gave the USA the right to expand, build, and use military airports and army and naval bases in Spain and to build secret installations. The agreement also provided for the shipment of American military equipment to Spain. According to the agreement on economic aid, the Spanish government pledged to give several advantages and privileges to American capital in Spain. According to the mutual defense agreement, the Spanish government pledged to finance the expansion and maintenance of jointly used military bases by allocating a peseta equivalent of part of the fund created as a result of American aid.
The Spanish-American agreements were renewed for five years in September 1963. The USA was given the right to use the port of Rota for the stopover of atomic submarines and for storage of nuclear warheads for the Polaris rockets.
After lengthly negotiations the Spanish-American agreements were renewed in 1969 to run until Sept. 26, 1970.