Eight people were arrested after the death of two Spanish civil guards, hit by a drug trafficker boat Friday evening during a chase in the port of Barbate (southwest), the authorities announced on Saturday.
“The Civil Guard arrested three passengers of the trafficking boat which hit a patrol, causing the death of two agents and injuring two others” in the Bay of Cádiz, the Civil Guard said in a press release.
“Two other people who had come by vehicle to pick up the passengers” in Sotogrande (south) were also arrested.
One of the two injured remains hospitalized
A few hours later, the police announced the arrest of “three other passengers who had fled the boat”.
A video broadcast by the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) and several Spanish media shows a chase in the port between several very fast boats in the middle of the night, in the middle of the waves caused by the comings and goings of the boats.
Nuestro más profundo pésame a las familias de los compañeros asesinados esta noche en #Barbate.
And we hope that the compañeros provide service in these safety conditions in the Gibraltar field @AUGC_Cadiz #ProfesionDeRiesgoYa #ZonaEspecialSingularidad pic.twitter.com/WtgvQo2CMm
— AUGC INSTITUCIONAL (@AUGC_RR_II) February 9, 2024
One of the two injured civil guards remains hospitalized but his life is not in danger, the gendarmerie equivalent said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he “deeply regrets the death of the agents” on Saturday on X (formerly Twitter), an event which “extremely saddened” the royal family, the latter reacted on the same social network.
“Zero impunity”
Visiting the site, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, described the facts as "an assassination", promising "zero impunity" and the implementation of "all necessary means" against drug trafficking in the region. region.
The government of the British enclave of Gibraltar, near the Bay of Cádiz, also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.
The Bay of Cádiz is the regular scene of drug seizures by the Spanish authorities.
The country is one of the main entry points for drugs into Europe, particularly the Spanish region of Andalusia (south), due to its proximity to Morocco where cannabis resin is produced, then exported to 'Spain.