Two police officers killed by drug smugglers’ boat in Spain Breakthrough in negotiations: new EU debt rules ready for decision

Two Spanish Guardia Civil officers were killed in the port of the southern city of Barbate when a speedboat carrying drug smugglers collided with them. Five suspects were arrested a few hours after the crime, the police unit, which reports to both the Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry in Madrid, said on Saturday.

The interest group Guardia Civil AUGC spoke on X, formerly Twitter, of a “wild assassination attempt”. The attack took place late Friday evening, when the police boat with six passengers was on an inspection tour. The two fatalities were fathers aged 43 and 39, state television RTVE reported, citing the Guardia Civil. Two other officers were injured. The two were taken to hospital with injuries, some of them serious. But things are going well for them now, given the circumstances.

The act, of which there is video footage distributed by RTVE, among others, led to great outrage in Spain. AUGC called for the resignation of Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, citing the lack of resources to combat drug trafficking. The prosecutor in Cadiz, Ana Villagómez, who is responsible for the fight against drugs, also denounced the situation. This is “very alarming” and “out of control,” she told the Europa Press news agency. The region is “full of boats” that are used almost “unhindered” by the drug mafia and also by human smugglers.

Grande-Marlaska assured on Saturday during a long-planned visit to Cádiz that “the murderers” of Barbate would be severely punished and that the drug mafia would be “more and more cornered every day.” There will be ‘no more murders’.

The port city of Barbate with almost 23,000 inhabitants is located on the Atlantic coast near the Strait of Gibraltar in the Andalusian province of Cádiz. The relatively poor region has been a drug stronghold for decades. The trade in hashish and marijuana in particular is flourishing there. The Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. Every day, countless drug-laden motorboats reach the Andalusian coast and rapidly cross the strait between Morocco and Spain. (sda/dpa)