The men were not interrogated or put on trial. They were flown to Madrid and on to the Canary Islands under police custody, and finally put on a flight to Buenos Aires unaccompanied and using the same passports, now known to be false. Spain had recently joined NATO and Sotelo did not want not to create tensions with the UK or with Argentina; quietly returning the men to Argentina seemed the best course. The operation was handled entirely by the Spanish police and Ministry of the Interior; the CESID (Spanish military intelligence agency) was not informed or involved. The operation was kept secret by all participants, who did not discuss it for years. The Spanish police were ordered to destroy all associated records. At the last minute, when the men were already at the airport, the police chief realised they had not taken the men's identification information and called to order photos of the men taken. At the airport, the police officers thought it would look awkward to take mug shots in public, and a friendly group photo of the commandos with the police guarding them was taken. This photo has not been found. Aftermath An October 1983 article in The Sunday Times titled How Argentina tried to blow up the Rock exposes the basic plot but contains various errors due to the limited information about the operation available at the time. A 2003 documentary featured interviews with Anaya, Nicoletti and other participants. In one interview, Nigel West, a British writer who specialises in covert operations, claimed that the UK, aware of the covert plans thanks to telephone taps of conversations between Argentina and its embassy in Madrid, had informed Spanish authorities of the operation ahead of time. References External links Operación Algeciras review (Spanish) Operación Algeciras Article by Alberto "Duffman" López. Retrieved 9 April 2010 1982 in Gibraltar Frogman operations Intelligence operations Military history of Gibraltar Military operations involving Argentina Military operations of the Falklands War Operations involving Argentine special forces