“On the verge of collapse.” This is how you find the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard in Andalusia fight against violent criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, according to the professional association Justice for the Civil Guard (Jucil), which warns that control on the Andalusian coasts “is seriously compromised by lack of resources materials and personnel” in the said service.
According to the complaint, of the 19 Civil Guard ships assigned to the Andalusian community, only seven are operational. Those that are not have structural failures or are out of service due to lack of staff.
‘The real situation after last week’s defeat of the ‘Río Irati’ in an altercation with a drug boat, is that only 36% of affected vessels are operational. Coordination between the provinces tries to mitigate the gaps, but it is not enough to cover the 1,000 kilometers of Andalusian coast”, explains Jucil. In this attack of a drug boat towards the ‘Río Irati’ a drug dealer died last week and two police officers were injured.
The Armed Institute’s speedboats, intended to improve the pursuit of drug speedboats, were “serious structural problems”, which make them inadequate for intense maneuvers,” explained JUCIL communications secretary Agustín Leal.
Jucil recalls that Andalusia is one of the main drug entries in Europe and that 80% of drugs intercepted in all countries are seized in this region, notably cocaine and hashish.
“The situation is untenable”
“The mafias, increasingly organized and better armed, take advantage of the lack of resources to act with impunitywhile the civil guards risk their lives with obsolete and insufficient means. “The situation is untenable,” says Jucil.
And he denounces once again that drug traffickers have more and better resources than the Civil Guard. “It’s not just a logistical problem, it’s a scandalous treatment towards those who risk their lives every day,” says Agustín Leal.
Faced with this situation, Jucil calls for urgent plan provide the Maritime Service with adequate resources, including the immediate replacement of vessels adapted to high-intensity activities and equipped with the capacity for demanding maneuvers.
This also requires and reinforcing agent in the Andalusian bases of the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard, particularly in Cádiz and Huelva and the strategic reorganization of ships “to guarantee minimum effective coverage of the entire Andalusian coast.” With only seven operational ships we are losing control of the Andalusian coasts and we see that drug traffickers travel the entire coastline. “We cannot allow the principle of authority to be diluted while the mafias gain ground.”
