Spain's National Security warns of 600 narco-boats that 'do not hesitate to ram' vessels and use weapons of war

Drug traffickers operating in the waters off southern mainland Spain and the Canary Islands are acting with near impunity. The government and the Interior Ministry are fully aware of the scale and seriousness of the problem, according to Spain's National Security department, the main advisory body to PM Pedro Sánchez.

In its latest annual report, the department states that the country's "vulnerability" in these areas is "increasing".

The report emerged just days after the deaths of Captain Jerónimo Jiménez Molero and Guardia Civil officer Germán Pérez González in waters off Huelva while they were pursuing a narco-boat. It also comes amid growing controversy over officers' complaints about a lack of resources and government support. The document lists organised crime and drug-trafficking among the country's main threats.

The report's most striking figure concerns the boats trafficking gangs use. According to the document, the maritime action operations and surveillance centre (COVAM) "reported more than 600 speedboat type vessels suspected of carrying out drug-trafficking operations, mainly in the Strait of Gibraltar area".

The report also says that "the areas of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Canary Islands-Atlantic arc present increasing vulnerability for Spain" because criminal organisations make intensive use of these maritime routes.

The situation causes particular concern because of the growing violence linked to the operations. The document warns that criminal groups "do not hesitate to ram land vehicles and vessels when they perceive a risk of interception or losing the drugs".

Although the report says violent incidents have not spiralled compared with previous years, it notes "greater offensive capability", including the "use of weapons of war". However, the document makes no reference to the Interior Ministry's refusal to authorise officers to fire at the engines of semi-rigid boats, despite repeated requests from specialist Guardia Civil units in recent months.

The 2025 National Security report does not mention the murder of two Guardia Civil officers in Barbate in 2024 (it falls outside the reporting period), nor the deaths of the Huelva officers on Friday. It does, however, include an incident on the Guadiana river last year in which "an officer of the Portuguese Gendarmerie" died "after a narco-boat rammed the official vessel". Authorities cite the episode as evidence of the level of aggression these criminal networks have reached.

The report says police pressure in the Campo de Gibraltar over recent years has forced trafficking gangs to change strategy. "Measures implemented under the special security plan for the Campo de Gibraltar have substantially altered the operations of criminal groups involved in drug-trafficking," it states.

One of the biggest changes is that narco-boats now stay at sea longer to avoid interception. That has triggered "an exponential increase" in so-called 'petaqueo': the practice of supplying fuel to drug-trafficking boats at sea.

The report says authorities in Cadiz and Huelva recorded "a significant increase in seizures of fuel intended to supply narco-boats". It also warns that this activity creates "an additional risk linked to the volatility of these substances".

Pressure on the Campo de Gibraltar has also pushed trafficking routes towards other areas in southern Spain. The report says that "pressure on drug-trafficking in the Gulf of Cadiz and the mouth of the Guadalquivir river has led organisations involved in this illegal activity to shift their area of influence to the province of Huelva, the Guadiana river and the Algarve region in Portugal".

Authorities view Spain as "a key strategic point for global drug-trafficking" because of its geographical position and its maritime and commercial links with Latin America and the rest of Europe.

Against this backdrop, cocaine trafficking remains one of the main concerns. The report says "the main route of entry for this drug into the country remains maritime", primarily through containers arriving at major ports such as Port of Algeciras, Port of Valencia and Port of Barcelona.

However, the document also warns of a "significant increase" in the use of high-speed vessels that collect drugs at sea before transporting them to mainland Europe.

Alongside conventional narco-boats, authorities have also detected "an increase in international reports concerning semi-submersible vessels used for the transoceanic transport of large quantities of drugs".

The report concludes that criminal organisations are adapting rapidly to police and technological pressure, increasing their logistical and operational capacity and raising the risks both for security forces and for maritime safety in southern Spain.