He Sánchez’s government excluded respond to the request made by Valencian President Carlos Mazón so that the Chief of Defense Staff (Jemad)Lieutenant General Amador Enseñat y Berea, put yourself at the head of the thousands of soldiers deployed to the scene of the disaster of DANA. The request was made by Mazón this Saturday afternoon, but very shortly after it was rejected by the executive of Pedro Sánchez. The government alleges that it is neither necessary nor appropriate for the Jemad to be responsible for this device and that the head of the highest command on the ground is the general head of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Lieutenant -General Francisco Javier. Marcos.
“Regarding the coordination of the armed forces deployed in the Valencian Community in an emergency situation like the one we are experiencing at the moment, we recall that the main person responsible is the general head of the emergency military unit, Lieutenant General Francisco Javier Marcos. » , indicated government sources cited by Efe. All this after President Pedro Sánchez urged, at noon, the Generalitat Valenciana to ask the State for all the resources it deems necessary to deal with the tragedy.
For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, indicated after the appearance of Carlos Mazón that the Central Government would join the immediate intervention groups that the Generalitat Valenciana decided to create, and declared that “ The command of the armed forces deployed “in this emergency” will at all times be “exercised by a general.
The minister also indicated, after the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (CECOPI), that “the composition of the working groups will be determined and, obviously, also the composition of each of the respective ministries”, although he insisted in to which the Government will join them “as soon as possible and within the framework of the necessary inter-institutional cooperation and coordination”.
The Minister of the Interior indicated that “from the start, the Government’s clear desire is to create all these working groups and all the necessary and precise actions to recover, as quickly as possible and within the framework of cooperation and the necessary, normal interinstitutional coordination.
Government sources have specified that the requested ministries will participate in the working groups of the Generalitat with ministers, secretaries of state or other technicians, depending on the needs.
“It is true that we are here faced with a tragedy which, in terms of loss of human life, is absolutely difficult to describe other than by its seriousness,” added the minister.
Regarding the command of the Armed Forces deployed in this emergency – today 5,000 soldiers – “it will be exercised at all times by the general of said Armed Forces, the natural command of these, the general who already exercises these functions” , he indicated.
