Not once, not twice, not three times. The presence of drug boats on the coast of Almería, particularly in the coastline of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park It has become commonplace. Throughout 2024, there have been numerous complaints from social media users regarding sightings of these types of boats seeking shelter in storms.
The most recent episode was detected on November 20 in the area known as Punta Polacra in Níjar. The Professional Justice Association of the Civil Guard (Jucil) has once again denounced the alarming situation that exists on the Andalusian coasts after this incident.
According to the association, a Civil Guard patrol boat, the Río Guadiana, attempted to identify the occupants of at least a total of eleven drug boats who had taken refuge from the storm, as many witnesses were able to observe from the coast. However, the boat’s technical limitations prevented it from responding effectively, allowing the mafias to escape with impunity, even after two crew members from one of the illegal boats fell into the water.
The Río Guadiana patrol boat is in service, but with operational restrictions due to wear and tear from heavy use and lack of adequate maintenance. “Jucil has repeatedly denounced the lack of resources and personnel of the Civil Guard and how this fact strengthens drug trafficking mafias who have been operating in this field for years. The reality is obvious: our boats are old, they are slow and cannot cope with the modern, fast and well-equipped drug boats used by the mafias,” said Jucil spokesperson Agustín Leal.
The professional association which defends the interests of the work of civil guards emphasizes that this incident reflects the structural weakness of the device maritime surveillance in Andalusia, despite the strategic importance of its almost a thousand kilometers of coastline. That same week, and after Jucil’s alert that only seven of the 19 ships in Andalusia were operational, the Interior Ministry assured that there was no reason to be alarmed.
“The real situation contradicts these statements. Ships like the Río Irati in Cádiz are out of service due to serious damage, while the Río Guadiana in Almería has operational restrictions that limit its ability to confront the mafias operating in the area,” explains Jucil. The association warns that incidents like that of Cabo de Gata, where the civil guards were unable to stop drug boats from escapingshows how the mafias act with increasing audacity, aware that the security forces lack the necessary means to deal with them.
Jucil, through a statement, reveals that a few months after the assassination of two civil guards in Barbate by drug traffickers, “the situation on the Andalusian coasts is not improving“. He emphasizes that the Interior Ministry is limited to sending reassuring messages, but the facts contradict his statements. “Our coasts and our citizens cannot be protected with slow boats and insufficient and overworked personnel,” they emphasize.
The association emphasizes that mafias do not only traffic drugs, but also people. In this case, the impossibility of rescuing two crew members who fell into the water from one of the drug boats and who “were picked up by another of the ‘rubbers’ by the slowness of our boat highlights a problem that we cannot ignore. “Our coasts run the serious risk of becoming a free corridor for illegal trafficking.”
