Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
JUNTA president Juanma Moreno has described the fight against drug trafficking as ‘David against Goliath’ as he called on Pedro Sanchez’s government to treat suspected criminals ‘like ETA terrorists’.
The regional president of Andalucia spoke at a conference called “The Future of Spain” in Madrid. Andalucía, donde todo comienza (‘Andalucia, where it all begins’), organised by the regional Ministry of Economy, Finance and European Funds.
His comments also coincided with the visit of a delegation of MEPs (Members of European Parliament) to Algeciras and Barbate, the municipality where two members of the Guardia Civil were killed last year after they were hit by a so-called ‘narcolancha’, a small boat used by gangs to traffic drugs across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Moreno has warned that drug trafficking in Spain is growing. It has greater resources and capabilities, while Guardia Civils and Policia Nacionals have fewer. David is up against Goliath. Our rule of law has been humiliated. “It is an invasion.”
“We will watch how the drug dealers threaten judges, police officers and Guardia Civil. They may also buy off politicians, officers or judges. Moreno continued, “They began with hashish and now they are dealing with cocaine.”
READ MORE: WATCH – Police track down the last narco who was on the speedboat that killed two police officers in southern Spain
“Cocaine always causes bloodshed.” We are already seeing Kalashnikov assault rifles, weapons…and I hope I am wrong, but we are going to see ugly things. “I ask the government for all of its resources to be deployed.”
The conservative leader of the Partido Popular, (PP), issued a strong warning to the government, urging it to take the same steps that were taken against the terrorists belonging the ETA, a Basque separatist organization that terrorised Spain in the second half of the twentieth century, killing more than 800 Spaniards.
The Junta President added: “I’m ashamed that such a modern nation as ours doesn’t have the capability to combat growing drug trafficking. We can stop this now, but we won’t be able in a few more years.
“Drug trafficking began in one province but has now spread to the rest of southern Andalucia. We cannot see speedboats every day from Cabo De Gata to Huelva. They cannot enter the Guadalquivir as if they were at home. It is impossible that petrol used to fuel the boats in the ports leaves normally, because it’s not a crime under the Penal Code.”
The spokesperson for the Andalucia branch of the socialist PSOE criticised Moreno for ‘attacking the Spanish government and poisoning minds’ when he should be ‘supporting the professionals that make up our police and security forces’.
