by Civil Guard agents in the operation in Barbate to arrest the crew of a drug boat / Francisco J. Olmo – Europa Press
The murder of civil guards David Pérez Carracero and Miguel Ángel González when they were deliberately run over by a drug boat in the port of Barbate while this barbaric action was cheered on by unscrupulous people from the ground forces us to pay attention to various phenomena that, concatenated, show the difficulties with which the fight against increasingly strengthened drug trafficking is faced in Spain, which is not only one of the main entry routes for drugs into Europe and one of the countries with the most consumers but has also become a major producer.
The incident cannot but be related to the lack of material and human resources. From a material point of view, because the unfortunate event took place as a consequence of the flagrant inferiority of the Civil Guard’s conditions with respect to drug traffickers, a weak zodiac compared to an illegal glider of much greater size and power. The Government, in a classic incremental response, has increased the number of vessels and has even considered the possibility of having the Navy. However, it is not that the Civil Guard does not have boats or resources but that at the time of the incursion all the patrol boats were damaged, so the problem not only becomes one of means but also of planning.
From a human point of view, the alleged lack of troops has been attributed to the dismantling of the elite unit of the Civil Guard against drug trafficking, Ocon Sur, which was promoted by Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska himself and which was in charge of combat this activity in Andalusia when the control of the territory by local drug clans threatened to get out of hand of the police and justice. This dismantling, which according to the ministry does not imply a reduction in the number of agents dedicated to the fight against drugs, seems to respond to the existence of internal irregularities that are being investigated and to the possibility that said unit could have been intoxicated by the mafias. a common practice in this type of criminal organizations, or, in any case, it could be tainted by internal complaints.
The attractiveness that mafias can exert on corruptible police, politicians or judges is a major problem that endangers the State’s ability to fight against a whole set of overlapping criminal activities. It is not in vain that the same boats that are used for drug trafficking are used for human trafficking. And that same capacity of attraction extends to a high number of people who have made drug trafficking and the derived industry their way of life, which can lead to a degree of social support that makes any police action even more difficult. As an example, drug trafficking has become an important source of income in a highly depressed area. How else to explain the cries of support cheering the drug traffickers in the port of Barbate. However, within the misfortune, perhaps his death, and the embarrassment over this attitude shared by the many citizens who are concerned about the activities taking place in their land, will serve as a stimulus to stop the emboldening of organized crime.
