Spanish Radio Television has sparked controversy with the Polisario Front following the broadcast of a map depicting Morocco, including Western Sahara. The Spanish state broadcaster RTVE's decision has drawn criticism from the Polisario, which issued a statement through its representative in Spain. The statement emphasized that «the territory of Western Sahara has been occupied since 1975 and its sovereignty belongs to the Saharawi people, as recognized by the European Court of Justice». The same statement added that «this incident marks the second occurrence of such a map being broadcast. In October 2023, a similar map was shown, prompting them to send a communication to RTVE. At that time, the broadcaster attributed the incident to an error». In December 2023, RTVE's Director General, Elena Sanchez Caballero, faced pressure from far-left groups aligned with Pedro Sanchez's government, leading her to apologize to Polisario supporters. In response to a written inquiry from Izquierda Unida (United Left) deputy Enrique Santiago, she characterized the airing of the map, which included the Sahara, as an «error». Meanwhile, the Polisario has yet to issue a response regarding the CIA's publication of a map showing Morocco in its entirety, including Western Sahara.
