A high-seas vessel of the Civil Guard, integrated into the Spain 2026 Operation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), has been exclusively serving since August 13 in the waters of the Region of Murcia. Its mission is to strengthen the fight against human trafficking networks and support the rescue tasks of immigrants, according to the Government Delegation in a statement.
The Government delegate, Francisco Lucas, has highlighted that "The permanent presence of this naval asset substantially improves maritime coverage and increases the possibilities of early detection, surveillance of wide maritime areas, interception of vessels, fighting against human trafficking networks, and support for the other maritime assets deployed in the area."
The representative of the central Government in the Region of Murcia has also pointed out that the Provincial Maritime Service is recovering this Friday a semi-rigid vessel S-40 after passing a technical inspection. This unit is added to the medium patrol vessel sent from Barcelona last Sunday to reinforce the device deployed in the autonomous community.
In response to criticism regarding the provision of resources in the Region of Murcia, Lucas has defended the "effort" of the Ministry of the Interior to make new material and human resources available to the community.
He has recalled that "The accumulated experience shows that networks dedicated to the illicit trafficking of immigrants adopt behaviors to hinder police action when they perceive the imminence of an interception and even throw the most vulnerable occupants into the sea. That is why, in many cases, interception becomes a rescue."
In this line, he has emphasized that these vessels "provide better capabilities for staying in the area, navigation safety, recovery of shipwrecked individuals, initial humanitarian assistance, and coordination of rescue devices."
Message to the public and criticism of the regional Government
Lucas has wanted to convey calm to the population by emphasizing that the arrival of vessels "is nothing new" on the coasts of the Region of Murcia.
He has stressed that "That does not mean we are suffering an avalanche or a wave of small boats, nor that immigrants from Ceuta are coming here, as the regional president says," and has described the generated alarms as "partisan use."
On the other hand, the delegate has lamented the "rejection" of the president of the Community, Fernando López Miras, to hold a meeting of institutional coordination, accusing him of turning the situation into a "media spectacle" and "instrumentalizing" a "so sensitive" matter.
Lucas has labeled the premise of the regional Executive that migration management is the exclusive competence of the State as "false" and has reproached the regional Government for using this issue as "another excuse to attack the Government of Spain."