Andrés Machado Algeciras

Algeciras

Updated Saturday, February 10, 2024-13:40

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  • Spain Two agents die after being run over by a drug boat in Barbate: "Is the Civil Guard on that shitty boat?"

At the main door of the Town Hall of

Algeciras

the flags fly at half mast. A wreath of flowers from the Local Police stands out on the door, in memory of the two Civil Guard agents who died in

Barbate

when they were run over this Friday night by a drug boat. Agents from different bodies and a good number of citizens have gathered in front of City Hall. Someone has broken the silence with the classic "Long live the Civil Guard!", followed by a round of applause.

One of the two deceased agents had been stationed in Algeciras for a few months. Two of his colleagues are in the hospital with serious injuries, although it seems that their lives are not in danger. The mayor,

José Ignacio Landaluce

(PP), has expressed his regret on behalf of the entire municipality.

"Today we are in mourning, tomorrow will be the time for reflection and analysis, but we have to accompany the Civil Guard agents and especially the relatives of the deceased," he said. He explained that "there is no reason to regret a third victim, although there have been moments of anguish since her condition was delicate. Now she is stable and they are going to have surgery." There is another member of the Armed Institute who also suffers serious injuries.

Although he did not want to go into many evaluations, the PP leader has alluded to the statements of

Macarena Arroyo

, Anti-Drug Prosecutor in the region, who has described what happened as "narcoterrorism." "It can be classified like this perfectly," agreed Landaluce, who recalled the requests that have been made to the Government of Spain to provide more resources. "Tomorrow will be the time to demand more and better means for the Civil Guard, since they are experiencing extreme situations, but I don't want to go there today, but we must act by changing the

Penal Code

and this must be penalized."

"Permanent imbalance"

Even more forceful has been the spokesperson for the

Coordinadora Alternativas

,

Paco Mena

, who has been fighting against drug addiction in the Campo-Gibraltar region for several decades now: "These guards have been murdered, we cannot tolerate it. It highlights the permanent imbalance that we have in the province of Cádiz, we have to do much more.

Mena recalled that they have been claiming the

Special Singularity Zone

for the Campo de Gibraltar for some time. "They believed it was only a problem here, but police pressure has led to other avenues and in Barbate it is another example." That is why Mena demands more resources, not only for those who risk their lives daily, but also for "the Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary."

He also asks that citizens take a step forward. "In La Línea we have seen how citizens cheer on the drug traffickers and now also in what happened in the port of Barbateño," he stressed, insisting on the need to apply policies, beyond security, so that young people do not see in this underworld a way out of his life. "How many more deaths do we need for this to end?" he has asked himself.

The Government of Gibraltar, through the Chief Minister,

Fabian Picardo

, has issued an official statement expressing its condolences to the Civil Guard and highlighting that "we are all united in the fight against drug trafficking."