A MAN has died and several others are feared missing after human smugglers forced migrants to swim to Andalucian shores at gunpoint on Sunday.
Shocking video by Diario de Almeria shows two migrant-packed speedboats bearing down on an old pier off Aguamarga, in Almeria province, before dozens of terrified people are ordered into the sea some 100 metres from shore.
The footage shows helmsmen brandishing guns as they shove migrants into the water – before spinning their boats around and making a rapid getaway, leaving their human cargo thrashing in the waves.
In the hours that followed, the Guardia Civil helped 83 people reach land – many of them just minutes from freezing to death.
Officials confirmed one man died during the rescue and that a search was underway for several others feared missing.
Experts say smugglers use the brutal tactic to make a swift escape before authorities can close in.
The coast of Almeria is the end point of a smuggling route originating in Algeria, according to authorities.
In 2024 alone, 357 boats brought more than 4,000 migrants to the province – down from nearly 6,500 arrivals on 492 vessels the previous year.
The latest drama comes amid growing calls from police and local officials for more government funding and manpower, as criminal networks in the area arm themselves with state-of-the-art boats and cutting-edge technology.
According to Diario de Almeria, the smugglers seen in the video were operating speedboats over eleven metres long, fitted with three outboard engines and capable of hitting speeds of up to 60 knots.
By contrast, the Guardia Civil was only able to deploy six officers to the rescue, with the Red Cross arriving several hours after the migrants had swum ashore.
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The incident follows another at the same location last month, when drug traffickers brazenly anchored nine speedboats in a natural cove off Aguamarga while sheltering from a violent sea storm.
The traffickers remained there for nearly three days – while authorities were powerless to intervene due to a dramatic “lack of resources,” according to a spokesperson for Almeria’s Unified Association of Guardia Civil Officers (AUGC).
Earlier still, in December, a high-speed drug boat repeatedly attempted to evade Guardia Civil maritime units off the Almeria coast, carrying out a series of dangerous manoeuvres during a tense pursuit.
After that incident, Jose Francisco Garrido, the mayor of Nijar in Almeria province, urged the central government in September to “do its job, increase the number of Guardia Civil officers, provide them with the necessary resources and operational protocols to tackle these criminal networks, and finally start taking Nijar seriously.”
He said: “I have been mayor of Nijar for just over two years, and from day one I have been calling on the Spanish government – which is responsible for dealing with this issue – to put an end to the problem.”
“But unfortunately, Pedro Sanchez’s government cannot, or will not, put a stop to the criminal gangs that roam our beaches on a daily basis – gangs that traffic drugs and human beings and fuel large-scale illegal immigration,” he added.
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