Immigration officials in Brazil turned back eight Spanish tourists this Friday, March 8, a day after the country expressed disappointment to Spain over the high number of Brazilians that are being rejected at the Madrid Barajas airport.
The eight Spaniards, five men and three women, arrived from Madrid to Salvador in the northeastern state of Bahia, indicated reports from the Globo television network.
According to the Brazilian federal police, the eight Spaniards, among which three tourism agents, were impeded from entering Brazil because of irregularities in their travel documents and for not having declared all the money they carried.
The incident occurs a day after the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official communiqué that it "was examining adopting appropriate measures in response to what has been happening, taking into account, inclusively the principle of reciprocity."
The release referred to the recent turning back of thirty Brazilians who were not allowed into Spain at Barajas airport. The Brazilian Foreign Office expressed its deepest "disappointment" and "dissatisfaction with the issue," of the Brazilians rejected by Spain.
The release also mentioned that Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim had talked about the issue "a few weeks ago" with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos and expressed personally the "dissatisfaction" of the Brazilian government with the "repeat of such restrictive measures."
According to Brazilian media, in February alone Spain turned back 452 Brazilians who had arrived at Barajas airport.
Mercopress
