The general secretary of the parliamentary group of Vox in Congress, José María Figaredo, defended this Friday that when he encouraged to "hunt" immigrants who entered illegally in Ceuta "one by one" he did so using that term as equivalent to "capture, detain or apprehend" these people. In addition, he pointed to the Government for wanting to "divert attention" by referring his statements to the Prosecutor's Office, and reiterated the convenience of "prosecuting" President Pedro Sánchez for "treason".
In an interview on Antena 3, collected by Europa Press, Figaredo was asked about the decision of the Ministry of Equality to request the Prosecutor's Office to determine whether his words could constitute a crime. The Vox deputy, far from rectifying, maintained that "the word is indifferent" and that in his intervention he used the verb "hunt" as a "colloquial way of speaking" about "detaining, capturing or apprehending" the immigrants who entered the autonomous city.
"I did not say to hunt human beings, I used it as a synonym and everyone understood it that way except the left," he emphasized, insisting that the Executive intends to "divert attention from reality" by bringing the matter before the Prosecutor's Office. In his opinion, the "reality" is that Sánchez's is a Government "traitorous to the Spaniards" and, therefore, he considers it essential to activate Article 102 of the Constitution to prosecute the head of the Executive for "treason," for having "stood by" and "abandoned the Ceutíes" despite the warnings that, according to Vox, existed about a massive entry of immigrants in Ceuta.
Criticism of reinforcements in Ceuta and demand for returns
Figaredo has denounced that the reinforcements of the National Police and the Civil Guard sent to Ceuta are insufficient. In his view, "the relevant thing is that there are more agents protecting Pedro Sánchez's vacations than Ceuta and that the president uses Civil Guard boats to dive. It's all a fucking shame. They need to be prosecuted and put on the stand," he stated, raising his tone against the Executive.
He also emphasized that it is still not precisely known how many people have accessed the autonomous city irregularly and criticized that, despite Morocco's willingness to welcome them back, no action has been taken for their return "ipso facto." From his perspective, the current regulations do not prevent that immediate return, not even in the case of minors.
In this sense, he has defended that "the legality and safety of minors is perfectly guaranteed, the law provides for returning them to countries considered safe," emphasizing that, according to the European Commission, Morocco has a guardianship system considered "safe." For this reason, he has expressed his rejection of the Government's intention to distribute the children and adolescents who have arrived alone in Ceuta among the autonomous communities, instead of returning them to the Maghreb country.
Ceuta and Melilla and the criticism of Netanyahu's words
Questioned about the statements of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he referred to Ceuta and Melilla as "colonial enclaves," Figaredo has defended that what corresponds is "to go to all those countries" that claim that the Spanish territories in North Africa are a colonial enclave "and talk to them" to make it clear that they are part of Spain. He has assured that "Vox, every time it has had the opportunity, has spoken with its international allies to modify their position" on the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla.