Elite Guardia Civil officers sent to fight increasingly violent drug traffickers in Andalucia are being forced to sleep in cramped and dirty prefabricated accommodation, it has been claimed.
Police union JUCIL has formally complained about the conditions provided to members of the Grupo de Accion Rapida (GAR), who have been deployed to the embattled Huelva province.
The specialist officers are being housed in prefabricated modules at the El Picacho military base near Mazagon, on the Huelva coast, the union said.
According to information received by JUCIL, the accommodation suffers from alleged problems involving its cleanliness, maintenance and available space.
The association claims that some officers have had to clean and disinfect parts of the accommodation themselves before they could use them.
The Spanish Eye has contacted the Guardia Civil for comment.
It comes as the GAR officers carry out a particularly dangerous deployment in a province which has seen a series of violent confrontations between law enforcement and increasingly brazen drug gangs.
Earlier this month, suspected traffickers opened fire on a Guardia Civil patrol boat during a pursuit off the Huelva coast.
Ten alleged members of the criminal organisation were later arrested, while two narcolanchas and almost six tonnes of hashish were seized.
JUCIL argues that officers carrying out such high-risk work need proper rest between operations and that the conditions in which they sleep should therefore be treated as an occupational safety issue.
Urgent inspection demanded
The association has formally asked the director general of the Guardia Civil for an urgent preventive assessment of the El Picacho accommodation.
It wants the Guardia Civil’s prevention office in Huelva, with the involvement or supervision of its Andalucian counterpart, to inspect the modules.
The list of issues it wants examined is extensive.
Inspectors should assess cleanliness and disinfection, ventilation, air conditioning, damp, drinking water, electrical installations, fire protection, toilets and washing facilities, mattresses, bedding and furniture, JUCIL says.
It also wants officials to determine whether the number of officers being accommodated allows them to get sufficient rest.
The association is calling for a specific assessment of the risks associated with fatigue and recovery among personnel taking part in the anti-narcotics deployment.
Until experts certify that the modules meet appropriate standards of safety, hygiene and habitability, JUCIL argues that they should not be used to house officers at all.
Rising violence on the Huelva coast
The row comes against a backdrop of growing concern about the firepower and willingness to use violence among drug trafficking organisations operating around Huelva.
Following the recent shooting at a Guardia Civil patrol boat, JUCIL demanded that the government restore OCON-SUR, the specialist coordination unit created to combat major drug trafficking organisations in southern Spain.
The association has also called for Huelva to be declared a Zone of Special Singularity, which would bring additional professional and financial recognition for officers working in an area it says is facing exceptional criminal pressure.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
