A 34-year-old US citizen has requested political asylum in Spain over fears linked to the policies of Donald Trump.
The man presented himself at a Guardia Civil station in the Mallorcan town of Felanitx on Wednesday accompanied by a lawyer, where he asked officers to process an asylum application.
According to sources cited in Spain, the US citizen claimed he feared returning to the States because he does not support the political direction being pursued by Trump’s administration.
Guardia Civil sources said officers initially informed the man that the police station was not the appropriate channel for handling such requests.
However, after the man insisted, officers eventually agreed to formally record the application.
The unusual case comes amid growing political polarisation in the US following Trump’s return to the White House and his increasingly hardline rhetoric on immigration, foreign policy and domestic political opponents.
Spanish authorities have not publicly disclosed further details about the applicant or the legal basis of the asylum request.
Under Spanish and European asylum law, applicants generally need to demonstrate a credible fear of persecution or serious harm based on factors such as political opinion, religion, nationality, ethnicity or membership of a particular social group.
The incident has already sparked debate online in Spain, where political asylum applications from citizens of Western democracies remain extremely rare.
