The Trump administration is demanding answers from Spain a week after 25-year-old sexual assault victim Noelia Castillo was permitted to die by euthanasia.
A leaked diplomatic cable, obtained by The Post, shows the State Department instructed the US Embassy in Madrid Tuesday to open an investigation into the Spanish law enforcement’s handling of repeated sex attacks, including gang rapes, against Castillo leading up to her tragic death.
Top US Embassy officials were also told to convey to the Spanish government the Trump administration’s “serious concerns” with the “many systemic human rights failures” that led Castillo to seek out assisted suicide and allowed the terminal act to be performed even after she reportedly “expressed hesitancy” in her final hours.
“We are deeply concerned by allegations that Ms. Castillo was repeatedly sexually assaulted while under state care and that no perpetrators have been brought to justice,” the cable reads.
“We are also aware of reports that Ms. Castillo expressed hesitancy to undergo euthanasia in her final hours, but that these indications were ignored,” it continues. “This case raises serious concerns about the application of Spain’s euthanasia law, particularly in cases involving psychiatric conditions and non-terminal suffering.”
Castillo opted to legally kill herself last Thursday under Spain’s right-to-die law, passed in 2021.
A previous suicide attempt left Castillo paralyzed from the waist down.
The young woman — whose father waged a lengthy legal battle attempting to block her assisted suicide – had been traumatized by the multiple sexual assaults she suffered before the age of 21.
The State Department indicated it believes Spain’s lax immigration laws could be to blame for the sexual assaults.
Here’s the latest on Noelia Castillo, the paraplegic gang-rape victim who died of euthanasia
“We are investigating allegations that the sexual assault of Ms. Castillo was perpetrated by individuals of a migration background,” the cable notes. “Mass and illegal migration is a human rights concern, and Spain’s facilitation of mass and illegal migration represents a dangerous threat to the rights and liberties of Spanish citizens, as well as broader regional and global security.”
The State Department has asked the US Embassy to work with Spanish authorities to obtain information about Castillo’s rapists, including their migration status and whether they could have been unaccompanied migrant minors, and what legal obstacles have prevented police from bringing charges against potential suspects.
The State Department asked US Embassy officials to convey these concerns to the Spanish government by April 3.
Castillo was approved for assisted suicide in 2024.
Her father lost his 18-month legal battle to stop the euthasia earlier this month when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected his emergency appeals and ruled in Castillo’s favor.
Her death sparked international debate about assisted suicide and Spain’s controversial euthanasia law, which allows individuals with severe psychological distress to seek death.
Castillo died wearing “her prettiest dress” after being administered a lethal cocktail of three drugs that stopped her heart within 20 minutes.
