Spanish Police Union Slams Government Aid to Morocco Amid Migration Crisis

The Unified Police Union denounces the aid provided to Morocco and is asking the government for more resources to effectively deal with the "wave of pateras" that the cities of Ceuta and Cadiz, the Canary Islands or the Balearics have been experiencing in recent times. "Better means are provided to the Moroccan security forces at the expense of the Spanish ones," the union says to El Español.

In three years, the government of Pedro Sánchez would have strengthened the Moroccan border security forces with materials worth more than 30 million euros. "The more than 200 latest generation all-terrain vehicles, troop transport trucks, semi-rigid boats and thermal cameras delivered by the Spanish government to Morocco in 2019 to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration have not been of much use in the face of recent migrant assaults on the Spanish coasts," denounces the union, which notes that with the few means and resources, the police and Civil Guard agents have always "tried to curb the arrival of migrants".

The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) agrees with the police. "We continue to suffer from the lack of agents, vehicles and materials to effectively fight illegal immigration in Ceuta and Melilla, Almeria, Murcia and the Canary Islands," they denounce. And they add: "It is very difficult to explain to the civil guards assigned to the commands of these cities and provinces how the government has provided more than 30 million euros in aid to the Moroccan police".

The police and the Civil Guard are therefore demanding that the government "invest more in human and material resources for the security forces at the borders to better control this new migratory avalanche", even if this requires a "realignment" of the aid granted to Morocco.

This year, more than 18,000 migrants have arrived on Spanish territory, 80% of them by sea, an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period in 2020.