The mayor of Algeciras and senator for Cádiz, José Ignacio Landaluce, has reiterated that the claim to reactivate the Coordination Body for Operations against Drug Trafficking, Ocon-Sur, "is not new nor a partisan issue," but rather responds to a need that "is backed by the reality we are living in Andalusia" and whose reactivation he considers "absolutely necessary and urgent."
He has recalled that Algeciras, in the heart of the Campo de Gibraltar, has been a "hot spot" for drug trafficking for years due to its proximity to the African continent, from where a large part of the hashish distributed throughout Europe enters, in addition to the arrival of cocaine and other substances through the port.
In an audio sent by the City Council to the media, Landaluce has supported the demand made in recent days by the Junta de Andalucía and its president, Juanma Moreno, understanding that it is "absolutely necessary and urgent" to return to the activity of Ocon-Sur in light of the resurgence of organizations dedicated to drug trafficking in the autonomous community, with recent episodes such as those that occurred in Huelva.
"Our agents need resources, need support, need all the necessary tools to confront criminal organizations that increasingly have more resources and that act with a violence that we cannot normalize," the Algeciras mayor has stated.
In this line, he has emphasized that both from the Mayor's Office of Algeciras and from his seat in the Senate he has defended this same demand on numerous occasions, for which he has thanked the Andalusian president for formalizing that request directed to the Government of Spain.
"The Ocon-sur worked and delivered results," Landaluce has asserted, stressing that "if we had a specialized unit that contributed to containing these mafias, it is not understood why it was eliminated and that now, when the threat has increased, the Government continues not to reactivate it."
He has also pointed out that drug trafficking not only poses a challenge for security but also brings "social and economic consequences" in the "most vulnerable" environments, where these criminal networks try to recruit young people and people in need to integrate them into their structures.
He has recalled that this social aspect is also included in the request made by Juanma Moreno to the central Executive, as has been explained by the Junta.
Landaluce has urged the Government of Spain to "listen to this request and act," emphasizing that "it is never too late to rectify a wrong decision."
In his opinion, "recovering the Ocon-Sur would be a good decision for Andalusia, for the Campo de Gibraltar, for Algeciras, and, above all, for our citizens and for the agents who risk their lives every day to protect us," he concluded.