Spanish police crackdown: seven smugglers suspected of having killed four migrants during a crossing to the Canaries have been arrested. The details of this dark affair which highlights the tragedies of illegal immigration.
This is a new drama of illegal immigration which has just been brought to light by the Spanish authorities. Seven smugglers were arrested last Sunday on suspicion of murdering four migrants during a crossing to the Canary Islands last November. According to a source close to the investigation, the suspects were in an emergency accommodation center on the island of Tenerife at the time of their arrest.
A nightmarish crossing
The facts date back to November 3, when a boat carrying 207 migrants docked on the island of El Hierro, in the Canary archipelago. But what should have been a journey to a better future turned into a nightmare. According to testimonies collected from survivors:
The smugglers, responsible for maintaining order on board, decided to take retaliatory measures against several migrants, two days before reaching the Spanish coast. They allegedly murdered four of them to scare the rest of the passengers.
A source close to the investigation
The Canary Islands, a new gateway
Located off the northwest coast of Africa, the Spanish Canary archipelago has in recent years become an important transit point for migrants seeking to reach Europe. In 2022 alone, more than 15,600 people arrived there irregularly by sea, a figure up 15% compared to the previous year.
Faced with this influx, local authorities say they are overwhelmed and are calling for more resources. Because behind these statistics lie countless human tragedies, like the one that has just been revealed. According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, more than 4,400 migrants died or disappeared in 2022 while trying to reach Spain, the majority of them off the coast of the Canaries.
The heavy toll of migratory routes
If the media spotlight is often focused on the central Mediterranean, between Libya and Italy, the Atlantic is also the scene of intense migratory movements at the risk of the lives of those who risk it. Mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, candidates for exile do not hesitate to take any risks to escape poverty and violence.
A journey sometimes organized by criminal networks of unscrupulous smugglers, ready to cram dozens of people onto makeshift boats, or even commit the irreparable to put down any rebellion. Once at sea, migrants are completely at their mercy, in often inhumane conditions.
On these dangerous roads, each crossing is like a bet on death. Those who survive are scarred for life. The victims are quickly forgotten, carried away by the waves.
Maria Gonzalez, researcher specializing in migration
The need for a concerted European response
Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, many voices are being raised to demand a more united and humane European migration policy. Because for the moment, each country manages arrivals on its territory in a dispersed manner, with often insufficient resources.
Migrant aid associations are calling for the opening of legal and safe immigration routes, in order to break the smugglers' business and avoid these repeated tragedies. They also call for better sharing of the reception of asylum seekers between Member States. But the negotiations are stumbling over deep differences between countries of the North and the South.
While awaiting political decisions that meet the challenges, the emergency is first and foremost humanitarian. On the ground, NGOs and rescuers are doing what they can to provide assistance to those castaway from migration. A constant fight to save lives, heal bodies and heal souls bruised by exile.
One tragedy among many others
The case of the murderous smugglers in the Canaries is unfortunately not an isolated case. Regularly, the news brings us sad echoes of shipwrecks, violence or suspicious deaths on the migration routes. Tragedies made possible by the tightening of migration policies and the closure of borders.
In this context, it is difficult to believe in the beautiful promises of happy and unhindered globalization. For millions of underprivileged people, dreams of a European El Dorado too often turn into a nightmare. And it is all of our humanity that is drowning in the Mediterranean or off the coast of the Canaries.
Let us hope that light will be shed on this umpteenth tragedy and that the culprits will be punished for their crimes. But beyond that, there is an urgent need to change our outlook and policy on migration. Because behind the figures and the sordid news stories, there are women, men and children trying to escape poverty and war. Before it's too late and the sea becomes their final tomb.
