A ROW has broken out in the Canary Islands after far-right activists placed a ‘hateful’ sign outside a reception centre for migrant children in Tenerife.
Local residents were horrified to discover a yellow warning marker placed on a lamppost in the heart of Puerto de la Cruz, a historic town on Tenerife’s northern coast, that read: “Danger: Multicultural zone.”
Designed to mimic a triangular road signpost, the sign included a depiction of a man with an afro pushing over a woman with a walking stick.
The alert was placed outside My City Hotel, a three-star lodging now used to house migrant children who arrive to the Canary Islands by small boat.
The sign was put up by activists from the youth wing of the Spanish Falange, a neo-fascist political group closely linked to FET y de las JONS, the far-right party of Spain’s former dictator Francisco Franco.
The stunt has been fiercely criticised by Canarian politicians, including the local deputy mayor David Hernandez who reported removing an identical sign placed near the town hall.
In a statement, on X, the Canarian branch of the socialist PSOE said: “This is not a joke nor freedom of expression. It is hate propaganda on our streets. And in the face of it, democratic firmness.
“We want to join the denunciation and condemnation expressed by our comrades from PSOE Puerto de la Cruz.”
The passage from Africa’s western coast to the Canary Islands – an archipelago located over 800 miles from mainland Spain but just 67 miles off the African coast – is widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous migration route.
Shocking figures revealed that 4,808 deaths were recorded in the first five months of 2024 alone, equating to 33 deaths a day or one every 45 minutes.
READ MORE: Revealed: More than 3,000 migrants died trying to reach Spain on small boats in 2025
That year, nearly 47,000 migrants reached the Canary Islands, according to figures published by the interior ministry.
However, arrivals have since slowed down thanks to a deal prime minister Pedro Sanchez struck last year with Mauritania, a key point of departure for African migrants.
The bilateral agreement included extra funding to support the poverty-stricken nation’s border control in an attempt to ‘disincentivise’ those attempting to make the hazardous trip west.
More than 17,500 migrants arrived by small boat in 2025, representing a 62 per cent decrease from 2024.
According to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish NGO, 1,906 migrants died while attempting to reach the Canary Islands last year.
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