Under Spain's state of alarm, the constitutionally-permitted emergency status declared due to the coronavirus crisis, the armed forces are given new powers as "agents of authority". And some members of the military have already begun to put those powers to use in different parts of the Spanish state.
Translation:
"Spanish army soldiers arrest a young man for disobeying lockdown in the Los Rosales neighbourhood of El Palmar, in Murcia."— Miquel Ramos
Images have begun to circulate on social media that appear to show the military making arrests, although it is unknown whether they are making the arrest or forcefully retaining the person while waiting for police officers to come. Members of the armed forces have begun to take on surveillance roles both on Spanish borders and within Spain, where they patrol with the Civil Guard in a total of 87 localities across the Spanish state, with their job being to monitor compliance with the state of alarm regulations.
Another case caught on video: "Soldiers arrest members of the public at the supermarket in Spain."
Functions of the armed forces
Spanish government sources told the SER radio network that the military will have three functions while the state of alarm is in force:
- Surveillance and identification of people, goods and institutions
- Response to possible situations where essential supplies are lacking
- Health care functions through the transfer of military hospitals such as Gómez Ulla (Madrid) or military medical professionals