Spain and Morocco strengthen cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking

Friday 14 February 2025 - 14:32

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s Interior Minister, and Félix Bolaños, Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Courts, co-chaired the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the European Coalition Against Organized Crime. During an interview, Grande-Marlaska highlighted Spain's key role in uniting countries to combat criminal organizations, particularly drug trafficking.

He emphasized the importance of cooperation, coordination, and information sharing, alongside intelligence generation, to better understand the adaptive nature of these criminal groups. Since 2018, Spain has carried out over 35,000 operations against drug trafficking, resulting in 25,000 arrests. Cooperation with Morocco has played a crucial role in these efforts, according to the Interior Minister.

Grande-Marlaska also noted that the fight against drug trafficking is more effective now than it was six years ago, after additional resources were allocated to Spain’s law enforcement agencies under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He pointed out that recent incidents involving drug boats in the Guadalquivir River near Seville should be understood within the context of the surveillance measures and rough sea conditions at the time.

Despite the visibility of such events, he argued that they should not create a sense of impunity, as these criminal activities were being closely monitored by authorities. Over the past six years, Spain has seized over 1,700 vessels linked to criminal groups and increased the number of arrests and operations.

Additionally, Grande-Marlaska applauded the agreement with the Junta of Andalucía, which will increase the number of police officers by 270 in four years. He further praised the central government’s decision to increase the overall police and civil guard forces in the country, with more than 16,000 additional officers over the past six years.

Responding to questions about the timeline for increasing law enforcement in Andalucía, he assured that the additional 725 agents would be deployed as soon as possible.