Last respects to honour Mallorcan soldier

THE Alvarez de Sotomayor Spanish Legion base in Viator held a funeral ceremony to honour 22-year old Mallorcan soldier Alejandro Jimenez Cruz, who died after being shot during a training exercise in Alicante.

Armed forces chief, lieutenant general Juan Gomez de Salazar, presided over last week’s ceremony, during which Alejandro was posthumously awarded a military merit medal for dying in the act of service.

Defence Minister Margarita Robles visited the base on the day of the funeral to offer her condolences to the young man’s family and friends. The minister said the tragic incident highlighted the “sacrifice and recognition of men and women who every day in their work are capable of risking their lives.”

She continued, “Today is a sad day, but at the same time the sacrifice of the people who die in these circumstances motivates us to continue working for what we believe in.”

Alejandro from Palma de Mallorca belonged to the Legion’s Don Juan de Austria III Regiment, deployed to the Viator base. Alejandro joined the unit in November last year.