The general directorate of the Civil Guard has confirmed in a statement the death of two agents and two other injuries, one seriously and the other slightly, after being attacked by a drug boat in Barbate, province of Cádiz.
One of the deceased agents, Miguel Ángel, 39 years old and a native of San Fernando (Cádiz), with a partner and a daughter, belonged to a team from the Group of Underwater Activities Specialists (GEAS). The other civil guard who lost his life, David, was an agent of the Rapid Action Group (GAR). Born in Barcelona, ??he was 43 years old, he was married to a woman and had two children.
As explained by the Armed Institute, this afternoon the Civil Guard has established a device in the Port of Barbate to identify the occupants of several high-speed boats.
“At the moment of approaching the boats, one of them suddenly rammed into the GEAS patrol boat of the Civil Guard, occupied by six agents,” he detailed. As a result of the attack, two civil guards, a GEAS agent and another from the GAR, died. Two other officers have also been injured, one seriously and the other slightly.
Videos lasting several minutes have been spread on social networks with people from the dock cheering the drug traffickers to sink the Civil Guard boats. At this time, a significant deployment of police forces has been deployed in the area.
Precisely, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, assured this Friday that Campo Gibraltar is already “almost” considered “de facto” as a Special Singularity Area, a constant claim by anti-drug associations and police groups.
In statements to journalists after presenting in Algeciras (Cádiz) the fourth Special Security Plan for Campo de Gibraltar, which covers six Andalusian provinces, the minister defended that this plan is already underway in this region and that the Government has allocated ” economic resources both at a personal and material level” that make him deserving “de facto, not de jure” of this declaration.
The Minister of the Interior has highlighted that the number of troops in Andalusia has grown by 11% in the last five years and by 16%, specifically, in Campo de Gibraltar. “We have a historic number of troops today and we have also increased the salaries of our police officers and our civil guards by 38%,” the minister declared in this regard.
At another point, the Ministry of the Interior has explained that the National Police and Civil Guard have seized 1,668 tons of drugs in the territory of deployment of the Special Security Plan for Campo de Gibraltar since this strategy was launched in July 2018. police operation to combat organizations dedicated to drug trafficking and smuggling in that region of Cadiz.
From the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) they have deeply regretted these “tragic events” and, while waiting to know more details of what happened, they have demanded from the Ministry of the Interior “a thorough investigation of these seriously occurred events.”
The professional association Justice for the Civil Guard (Jucil) has recalled that it has asked for better resources for the area, regretting the death of two agents and another seriously injured. “We shout loud and clear that the cruel murder of two civil guards makes an immediate and forceful response from the Ministry of the Interior necessary,” he defended, while calling for the reinforcement of troops and the implementation of the Special Singularity Zone. to fight against criminal drug traffickers who today have taken another step in their escalation towards crime that is increasingly dangerous for citizens.
Likewise, Jucil has regretted the images and videos published on social networks, with people “cheering the perpetrators of this murder and laughing at the civil guards” who, “with their poor and limited means, have died when trying to fulfill their duty: prevent drug trafficking and the entry of drugs. Furthermore, he has asked for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior “who has shown himself incapable of solving the serious problems that drug trafficking causes in the south of Spain,” according to what he denounced.
From the National Police union, Jupol, they have also criticized the Campo de Gibraltar Special Plan that Marlaska presented, insisting that it is a “real failure” because drug traffickers continue to roam “at ease”, which is why they have demanded the resignation of the head of the Interior.
