Two officers of the Civil Guard were killed and two injured, one of them seriously, when a fast outboard motor belonging to the drug traffickers of the patrol boat on which the soldiers were carrying out patrols last night in the port of Barbate, in the province of Cadiz, in the south west of the country were rammed. Spain.
The accident occurred when agents of the Special Underwater Activities Group of the Civil Guard on a patrol boat headed to the port of Barbate to identify the occupants of six 'narco-launches' who had sought refuge from the storm in the harbor.
While various inhabitants of the Andalusian town cheered on the drug traffickers from the pier - as can be seen from some videos posted on social networks - one of the boats rammed that of the agents.
Two gendarmes died and two others were injured, one of them seriously.
Eight arrests so far in the investigation into the incident
Eight people have been arrested so far, accused of being involved in the death of two Civil Guard officers and the wounding of two others, who were on board a patrol dinghy yesterday evening in the port of Barbate (Cadiz) rammed by a narco-
launch .
This was reported by Civil Guard sources, reported by TVE.
Those arrested are all Spanish citizens and have a history of drug trafficking.
In particular, three of those arrested, aged 21, 23 and 28, with previous convictions for drug trafficking, attacks on police authority, crimes against property and money laundering, are accused of two murders and serious injuries to the officers of the Guard Civilians injured, as they were suspected of being on board the narco-launch when it rammed the gendarmes' dinghy, according to the reconstruction of the investigators.
Two other arrested people, aged 34 and 54, were stopped in the Sotogrande plain (Cadiz), aboard a car in which their accomplices were waiting.
The anger of the Civil Guard unions
"Anger and indignation" was expressed by the trade union organizations of the Civil Guard. "It was a suicidal intervention, whoever gave the order must give explanations," denounced the representative of the Spanish Civil Guard Association, José Antonio Belizon, in statements to Efe.
The union representatives demand to know why the agents of the sub group were sent on a much smaller boat
than that of the narcos at the height of the storm and "knowing that it was not the first time that the narco-boats hit
patrol boats".
Another union, the Unified Civil Guard Association, has called on the Ministry of the Interior for "a thorough investigation" into the incident, while the trade association Justice for the Civil Guard has called for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, denouncing that colleagues operated on "an inadequate vessel"
The reaction of Prime Minister Sanchez and King Felipe VI
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, expressed "deep regret" for the death of the two Civil Guard agents hit by a narco launch in Barbate and conveyed his full recognition of "the great work" of the forces and security bodies against drug trafficking
, in a message posted today on X.
"I deeply regret the death of the Civil Guard agents in the act of duty on the coast of Barbate. I want to send a heartfelt hug to their families and companions. And my hopes for a rapid recovery for the injured agents", is said in the message.
For his part, King Felipe VI said he was "tremendously saddened by the death of two Civil Guards on duty in Barbate".
In a message posted in recovery for the
wounded".
“Your life of exemplary service in Spain will always honor your memory,” the message concludes
Cadiz prosecutor: 'the fight with narcos is totally unequal'
The chief prosecutor of Cadiz, Angel Nunez, today denounced the "absolute inferiority" of the means with which the police carry out the fight against drug trafficking, which "has all the means at its disposal" in the face of the worrying lack of resources in the
judicial and police fields.
In expressing "condolence" for the death of the two Civil Guard agents hit yesterday by a narco launch in the port of Barbate (Cadiz), the chief prosecutor in statements to the Efe agency underlined that "The fight is totally unequal. They have
all the means available and the Civil Guard does not have similar ones to fight them. Furthermore - added the magistrate - many police operations end up in the bottleneck in the courts due to a 19th century procedural system, with eternal trials".
Therefore many drug traffickers, despite arrests, "end up going free".
The opposition rises
The killing of two Civil Guard agents last night in Barbate has provoked controversial reactions among the political forces attacking the government.
The president of the People's Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, evoked political responsibilities "at the highest level" at an electoral rally in Galicia, in view of the regional elections on 18 February, calling for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
"How is it possible that in the morning he was visiting the area, saying that there was a proper and sufficient security operation. and then in the evening they murdered two civil guards," Feijoo asked.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the radical right party Vox, said at a meeting in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) that we must respond "in an energetic manner" to drug traffickers.
"If we have to choose between the life of the civil guards and the life of some narcos, we choose the first and we want the narcos at the bottom of the sea", he stated, quoted by the Efe agency.
The regional government of Andalusia, led by a PP-Vox coalition, has finally asked to declare the province of Cadiz "Area of special singularity", with the aim of equipping the police with adequate means and men to fight drug trafficking .
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