The second vice president of the Board and counselor of Tourism, Justice, Deregulation, and Local Administration, Manuel Gavira, has demanded that the central Government restart the special unit against drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar OCON-Sur, created in 2018.
In a message disseminated this Monday on his official account on the social network X, Gavira has recalled that "We warned and time has proven us right. Marlaska dismantled OCON-Sur and left a void that the narcos have filled with drugs, violence, and insecurity. Today, even the one who led this elite unit acknowledges that eliminating it was a step back."
The Vox leader has relied on the words of Brigadier General of the Civil Guard Manuel Contreras, former chief commander of the IV Zone of the corps, which encompasses Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla, who has described the "total dismantling" of said unit as "a step back."
In this line, Gavira has insisted that "We demand that the Government of Spain stop looking the other way, reactivate OCON-Sur, and immediately strengthen the means to combat drug trafficking. The security of the Andalusians is at stake."
On the same day, the third vice president and counselor of Economy, Finance, and European Funds, Carolina España, has pointed out that the Junta of Andalusia "has not received a response" from the central Executive to the request of the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, to reactivate the unit.
In the press conference following the Council of Government, España has considered that "It is clear that it has not only been a step back and a serious mistake on the part of the Government of Spain, but when they acknowledge that the narcos themselves throw a party to celebrate the dismantling of this elite unit, it means that something has been done."
Therefore, she has reiterated her request to the Government to "recover" OCON-Sur. As she has emphasized, "It is necessary to protect citizens, as well as our State security forces and bodies, who need material resources to be able to fight against drug trafficking in Andalusia."
On the other hand, the Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has accused this Monday the Executive of Juanma Moreno of "hiding" behind the "debate" about the dismantling of OCON-Sur its lack of management in areas of autonomous competence, such as health or fire prevention.
In statements to the media in Cúllar Vega (Granada), Fernández emphasized that the OCON-Sur was born with a "provisional" character and later "dissolved to become a permanent and fixed structure." After the disappearance of the unit, he recalled that the government of Pedro Sánchez launched a special plan against drug trafficking that, since 2018, has allowed the development of more than 48,000 operations and has resulted in the arrest of nearly 32,000 people.