Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven
With its sun-drenched beaches and vibrant nightlife, Spain has long been a top destination — not just for tourists, but also for criminals looking to vanish.
From drug traffickers to sex offenders and cybercriminals, fugitives from around the globe flock to Spain's coastal havens.
That gamble rarely pays off: police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
"We're arresting new people every day," said Fernando Gonzalez, the head of an elite Spanish police unit set up in 2004 to hunt down criminals on the run. "Spain remains a very attractive place for traffickers," he added.
Last year, his unit arrested 460 fugitives — mostly foreigners — across Spain, up from 390 in 2023.
The pace has not slowed this year. Recent high-profile arrests underscore the European country's ongoing appeal to fugitives.
In October 2024, police in Barcelona arrested Serbian national Nikola Vusovic, a suspected leader of a major crime gang from Montenegro, the Kavac clan.
At the start of this year, officers arrested the leader of a brutal Peruvian mafia group, Omar Luis Castaneda, near the Mediterranean city of Alicante over his suspected involvement in 16 murders in the Latin American country.
And in February, police in southern Spain arrested one of the gunmen who in 2024 ambushed a prison van in France to free a drug lord, Mohamed Amra, killing two prison guards. The fugitive was living in a luxury villa at the time.
"We deal with a wide range of profiles," from major criminals to petty offenders, as well as a wide range of nationalities, Gonzalez said as he scanned the latest list of arrests, which included Moroccans, French nationals and a growing number of Latin Americans.
'Blend in'
Spain's role as a haven for those trying to evade justice is "historic," a French investigator said on condition of anonymity.
"It's not just a hideout for fugitives ... it's also home to career criminals who operate between Morocco, Spain and France."
Spain is home to a large number of expatriates and is the world's second-most-visited country, having welcomed a record 94 million foreign tourists last year, which makes it easier for fugitives to go unnoticed.
"It's a place with a high quality of life. It's easy to rent quiet villas with swimming pools. People blend in," the French investigator said.
Criminal defense lawyer and former extradition judge Carlos Bautista said Spain's location "at the crossroads" of Europe, the Americas and Africa makes it a natural hiding spot for runaway criminals.
Gonzalez said fugitives can often easily find "contacts who can help" them among the large community of foreigners who live in Spain.
He cited as an example the case of a German woman who was arrested in the Balearic Islands where she had lived for years without speaking Spanish.
'Cat-and-mouse game'
Most fugitives are found along Spain's Mediterranean coast where expat communities are concentrated.
Malaga and Marbella on the Costa del Sol, which has long been a popular destination for British expats and tourists, are top picks for criminals on the run, said Bautista.
Laying low on the coast does not guarantee safety — these are regions with some of the highest arrest rates.
"It's a cat-and-mouse game. But we usually find them. It just takes patience," said Gonzalez.
Police credit wiretaps, monitoring social media and, above all, close international cooperation for their success.
Through ENFAST, a network of police officers from across Europe who work together to locate internationally wanted criminals, Spain has become a leader in cross-border arrests.
"Spain is extremely active in extraditions. Sooner or later, fugitives get caught," said Bautista.
The walls of Gonzalez's elite police unit are lined with mugshots and mementos from years of operations.
"There may be fugitives living quietly among us. But that doesn't mean they will escape forever," he said.
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Japan Times
4 days ago
- Japan Times
Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven
With its sun-drenched beaches and vibrant nightlife, Spain has long been a top destination — not just for tourists, but also for criminals looking to vanish. From drug traffickers to sex offenders and cybercriminals, fugitives from around the globe flock to Spain's coastal havens. That gamble rarely pays off: police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim. "We're arresting new people every day," said Fernando Gonzalez, the head of an elite Spanish police unit set up in 2004 to hunt down criminals on the run. "Spain remains a very attractive place for traffickers," he added. Last year, his unit arrested 460 fugitives — mostly foreigners — across Spain, up from 390 in 2023. The pace has not slowed this year. Recent high-profile arrests underscore the European country's ongoing appeal to fugitives. In October 2024, police in Barcelona arrested Serbian national Nikola Vusovic, a suspected leader of a major crime gang from Montenegro, the Kavac clan. At the start of this year, officers arrested the leader of a brutal Peruvian mafia group, Omar Luis Castaneda, near the Mediterranean city of Alicante over his suspected involvement in 16 murders in the Latin American country. And in February, police in southern Spain arrested one of the gunmen who in 2024 ambushed a prison van in France to free a drug lord, Mohamed Amra, killing two prison guards. The fugitive was living in a luxury villa at the time. "We deal with a wide range of profiles," from major criminals to petty offenders, as well as a wide range of nationalities, Gonzalez said as he scanned the latest list of arrests, which included Moroccans, French nationals and a growing number of Latin Americans. 'Blend in' Spain's role as a haven for those trying to evade justice is "historic," a French investigator said on condition of anonymity. "It's not just a hideout for fugitives ... it's also home to career criminals who operate between Morocco, Spain and France." Spain is home to a large number of expatriates and is the world's second-most-visited country, having welcomed a record 94 million foreign tourists last year, which makes it easier for fugitives to go unnoticed. "It's a place with a high quality of life. It's easy to rent quiet villas with swimming pools. People blend in," the French investigator said. Criminal defense lawyer and former extradition judge Carlos Bautista said Spain's location "at the crossroads" of Europe, the Americas and Africa makes it a natural hiding spot for runaway criminals. Gonzalez said fugitives can often easily find "contacts who can help" them among the large community of foreigners who live in Spain. He cited as an example the case of a German woman who was arrested in the Balearic Islands where she had lived for years without speaking Spanish. 'Cat-and-mouse game' Most fugitives are found along Spain's Mediterranean coast where expat communities are concentrated. Malaga and Marbella on the Costa del Sol, which has long been a popular destination for British expats and tourists, are top picks for criminals on the run, said Bautista. Laying low on the coast does not guarantee safety — these are regions with some of the highest arrest rates. "It's a cat-and-mouse game. But we usually find them. It just takes patience," said Gonzalez. Police credit wiretaps, monitoring social media and, above all, close international cooperation for their success. Through ENFAST, a network of police officers from across Europe who work together to locate internationally wanted criminals, Spain has become a leader in cross-border arrests. "Spain is extremely active in extraditions. Sooner or later, fugitives get caught," said Bautista. The walls of Gonzalez's elite police unit are lined with mugshots and mementos from years of operations. "There may be fugitives living quietly among us. But that doesn't mean they will escape forever," he said.
Japan Times
24-05-2025
- Japan Times
Boat driver arrests up as EU eyes tighter smuggling laws
After days at sea making the risky crossing from West Africa to the Canary Islands, migrants typically face hours of questioning by Spanish authorities trying to identify — and detain — the drivers of the boats they came on. But those drivers usually are neither the ringleaders nor profiteers, and they are being wrongfully charged under European Union counter-smuggling rules, nongovernmental organizations say. This summer, as the European Parliament is expected to finalize its position on proposed updates to EU counter-smuggling legislation, those NGOs are warning that the proposals risk perpetuating injustices and fail to target criminal organizations. The legislation, called the Facilitators Package, spells out the crimes entailed with intentionally helping people enter or move through the EU. Advocates like Daniel Arencibia, a lawyer based on the island of Gran Canaria, argue the focus should shift from pursuing boat drivers to prosecuting criminal organizations. Once drivers are arrested, authorities rarely track down who received money for organizing the crossings, he said. "In the Canary Islands, the drivers going to prison do not receive a single dollar for their activity," Arencibia said. "They come because they want to find a better life," he said. Arencibia works on cases of accused migrants in the Canary Islands, where nearly 47,000 people arrived illegally in 2024. He has been documenting arrests made under people-smuggling laws in the Atlantic region of Spain. For a third year in a row, the number of migrants accused under these laws across Europe increased in 2024, with 91 migrants facing legal proceedings, a 20% increase on 2023, according to an April report. The year-on-year increase reflects an intensified drive to identify smugglers among people arriving irregularly in Europe, said Silvia Carta, author of the report by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM). Over 80% of documented legal proceedings in 2024 — including 142 people accused of acting in solidarity with migrants — involved charges of facilitation of entry, transit or stay or migrant smuggling. The PICUM report showed most migrants are acquitted, often because cases are built on poor evidence. However, Carta said some cases in which the accused did not have legal support might not have been counted. Survivor or smuggler? Most of those facing criminal charges are accused of steering a boat, driving a vehicle across a border or managing passengers on board, according to the PICUM report. The accused have included survivors of deadly shipwrecks, such as nine Egyptian men accused of piloting a boat that sank off the coast of Greece in 2023, killing hundreds of passengers. For a third year in a row, the number of migrants accused under people-smuggling laws across Europe increased in 2024, with 91 migrants facing legal proceedings, a 20% increase on 2023, according to an April report. | reuters The men were detained for a year before the case was dismissed in May 2024. The investigative journalism outlet Solomon later found that Greek authorities knew the men were not part of the criminal network that organized the voyage as early as a month after the disaster. PICUM found charges also have been brought against people for distributing food or drink on board boats, using a map or helping their children. "Parents responsible for their children automatically fulfill the definition of facilitation because they're facilitating someone else's entry," said Carta. In one case, a Congolese woman faces five years in prison after being accused of smuggling her daughter and niece to Italy in 2019. The trio used fake identity documents to travel by plane to apply for asylum. Lawyers on the case have requested a ruling from the European Court of Justice on whether the Facilitators Package should apply when a person has not profited from helping others enter illegally. The United Nations defines migrant smuggling as obtaining financial or material benefit for procuring someone's illegal entry. The EU's Facilitators Package currently does not require financial gain as a criteria for the crime of facilitating entry. The proposed update introduces the element of financial or material benefit, but Carta said an element of criminal intent or exploitation should also be included. "The legal text should be extremely precise in narrowing down what can be criminalized," she said. A European Commission spokesman said the aim of the proposed updates was to target smugglers. "Our position is clear — humanitarian assistance should not be criminalized. What must be criminalized, is facilitating illegal entry, transit or stay in the EU in particular when it's done for profit," the spokesman said. Beyond the boat driver The European Parliament's committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), which oversees EU policy and legislation in those areas, criticized the Commission for failing to carry out an impact assessment on the proposed legislative update. It commissioned a substitute study, published in March, that found the Facilitators Package does not distinguish between exploitative action or action based on solidarity, whether by family members or humanitarian actors. The study calls for the definition of migrant smuggling to fully align with the U.N. protocol and says the new directive should focus specifically on criminal groups. It wants the Commission to withdraw the proposed update until it carries out an impact assessment. 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The Mainichi
15-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Rubio and other top NATO diplomats meet in Turkey ahead of possible Ukraine-Russia talks
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He did not outline those threats. NATO leaders insisted at their summit last year that "Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security," but some countries are uneasy about Trump reengaging with Putin. Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister who is hosting the meeting, is expected to express Turkey's commitment to strengthening NATO and call for the inclusion of NATO allies that aren't European Union members -- such as Turkey -- into European security and defense initiatives, according to Turkish officials. Fidan also would advocate a comprehensive, "360-degree security" approach focusing not only on ending the Russia-Ukraine war but also on stability in the Middle East and regions adjacent to NATO members, the officials said. The plan on higher defense spending Meanwhile, the defense spending plan under consideration appears to be for all allies to aim for 3.5% of GDP on "hard military spending by 2032," and an extra "1.5% related spending (on) infrastructure, cybersecurity and things like that. Also achievable by 2032," according to the Dutch government. While the two figures add up to 5%, factoring in infrastructure and cybersecurity would change the basis on which NATO traditionally calculates defense spending. The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance's usual standards. Whitaker, the U.S. NATO ambassador, appeared this week to confirm the plan, saying it "also includes things like mobility, necessary infrastructure, cybersecurity. It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers." It's difficult to see how many allies might reach even 3.5% of GDP. The meeting in Turkey may provide more clarity.
