Morocco–Spain relations island for centuries. Diplomatic ties were not restored until January 2003. That July, Morocco complained that Spain lacked neutrality on the Sahara issue when it chaired the United Nations Security Council and, in October, Spain suspended arms sales to Morocco due to the Perejil crisis. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero visited Morocco in April 2004, and King Juan Carlos I visited in January 2005; on both occasions, joint statements called for a negotiated settlement to the Sahara issue—the Moroccan position. However, visits to Ceuta and Melilla by the Spanish prime minister in January 2006 and monarchs in November
Plus Ultra Brigade most important combats was the Battle of April 4th, in the base Al-Andalus in Najaf. After the attacks of 11 of March 2004, the Spanish general election, 2004 was won by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who promised the withdrawal of the Spanish troops in Iraq. A new relay was being prepared but was interrupted on April 18 by the government, ordering the return of the force. To evacuate the camps, 1000 Legionaries and specialists of the Engineer Command were sent. On April 21, General Fulgencio Coll Bucher handed over the command to the General José Manuel Muñoz of the exit