The new Spanish director of national security, nominated by the cabinet this Friday, is army colonel Pedro Baños, an expert in jihadist terrorism. The colonel is a frequent contributor on Cuarto Milenio, a programme focused on conspiracy theories and the occult on Spanish TV channel Cuatro. In his appearances, he has explained various theories about UFOs, convinced of their existence. One of his theories says that the CIA used three different types of UFO with the aim of defending the USA from nuclear attack during the 1980s. He also appears regularly on RT Spanish, one of international channels of what was formerly Russia Today, a broadcaster frequently linked to the Russian government, and the Russian government controlled Sputnik.
Pro-Russian
Baños started appearing on TV after leaving active service for the reserves. He doesn't only speak about the paranormal, but also frequently defends pro-Russian theories. When it comes to Russian president Vladimir Putin, he emphasises his great leadership strength, both internally and internationally. He has also defended the Russian government's support of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. In the same vein, he also criticised Western media when they reported that the Syrian government had massacred civilians during the battle of Aleppo.
To express these opinions, the colonel frequently turns to Twitter, where he has published remarks like: "As a soldier of a country in NATO, I cannot express an opinion. But I do believe that Europe has lost an opportunity with Russia".
La 7ª edición de #AsíSeDominaElMundo ya está aquí!!! Todo mi agradecimiento a las decenas de miles de personas que han hecho posible este insólito éxito nacional e internacional de un libro sobre geopolítica. @EditorialAriel pic.twitter.com/t3XlSAk4cp
— Pedro Baños Bajo (@geoestratego) 31 de maig de 2018
Baños has collected his ideas together in a book called Así se domina el mundo : desvelando las claves del poder mundial (in English, "How They Rule the World: The Secret Strategies of World Power", to be published next year). The book is already headed for its seventh edition in less than a year.
Military career
Baños, an infantry colonel in the Spanish army, graduated from the military academy in 1985. His first important role came in 2001, as head of counter-intelligence and security for the European Armed Forces. He's a specialist in strategy, geopolitics, intelligence, terrorism, international relations, defence and security.