This is the moment Juanma Moreno declared war on drug traffickers during a speech at a Partido Popular (PP) rally on Friday.
The Andalucian president made the pledge alongside PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo.
They had gathered for the traditional ‘huevos fritos’ meeting in Alhaurin el Grande, which marks the beginning of the party’s political year.
‘In Andalucia we are fighting a war against drug trafficking,’ Moreno said, adding that narcos have now invaded all eight of the region’s provinces.
‘There is no longer any province in Andalucia where we don’t see speedboats, where we don’t see people refuelling them,’ he said.
He placed the blame on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, accusing the national government of failing to provide authorities with enough resources to tackle the scourge.
He said: ‘For eight years, since Mr Sanchez has been governing, drug trafficking has expanded its criminal network from the Bay of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar to Ayamonte, and from Ayamonte to Pulpi, in the province of Almeria.’
Moreno also criticised the disbanding of OCON-Sur in 2022, a dedicated task force that specialised in fighting drug trafficking networks.
‘Eight years in which one of the elite units specialising in the fight against drug trafficking was dissolved,’ he said.
‘Eight years in which they have not provided the resources or material means to work and fight the narcos.’
He also warned about the potential impact of the trade on young people and the danger of organised crime becoming increasingly embedded within communities.
The comments follow repeated concerns from police associations and Guardia Civil representatives over the resources available to combat the sophisticated gangs.
Spain’s opposition leader Feijoo also vowed to ‘defeat’ organised crime on the Costa del Sol, promising to pursue and imprison powerful narcos.
‘I commit myself to fighting organised crime on the Malaga coast, on the Costa del Sol and throughout southern Spain,’ Feijoo declared.
‘We are going to defeat them because we are going to pursue them, we are going to imprison them and they will disappear from our coast.’
Feijoo promised a specific offensive if he becomes the next prime minister at next year’s general election.
‘I am not going to abandon the Guardia Civil, the Police, the CNI or state security,’ he said.
He argued that strengthening the fight against organised crime should form part of a wider effort to restore people’s sense of security, alongside greater protection of Spain’s borders.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
