Started from the arms of his mother and cast into the sea. This is how a 14-month-old baby tragically perished while making a journey on a Cayuco to the Canary Islands. This atrocious event occurred aboard a vessel that reached El Hierro on December 28, carrying 224 individuals, including 14 children and 57 women. The expedition had departed seven days earlier with 232 individuals from the Senegalese Island of Bassar -120 kilometres south of Dakar-. Alongside the baby, who was of Gambian nationality, seven other individuals were reportedly killed during the journey, as per the Civil Guard, which has detained seven men who may have been the boat’s captains.
The mother of the infant survived and arrived in the Canary Islands, according to investigative sources. Among the deceased were also a father and his son, aged 50 and 18, from Guinea. The father’s partner was also on board, having witnessed the attack that claimed the lives of the two. Upon arrival, some survivors exhibited severe injuries which, according to the same sources, were consistent with wounds caused by whips and bladed weapons. The Civil Guard noted that these injuries likely resulted from an altercation during the crossing.
Detention of one of the Cayuco captains in which eight individuals lost their lives. / Civil Guard
During the initial assistance at the La Restinga dock, those on board the Cayuco did not disclose the events of the journey, neither to volunteers from the Red Cross nor to the National Police. It was only upon their arrival at the Foreigner Temporary Care Centre (Cate) in San Andrés that they revealed the details of what transpired. Following the collection of testimonies, agents initiated an investigation to clarify the cause of the injuries and concluded that in addition to the 224 survivors, eight others must have perished at the hands of the now-detained captains.
The Civil Guard, under the coordination of the delegate prosecutor for trafficking in persons and foreigners in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, arrested seven individuals in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Madrid, León, and Almería. The operation spanned multiple provinces as adult migrants arriving in the Canary Islands are distributed across various reception centres on the mainland, allowing the captains to blend in unnoticed.
Out of these arrests, three took place at the main reception centre. The San Cristóbal de la Laguna Court ordered their provisional detention without bail, as they were accused of eight counts of murder along with several charges of assault, degrading treatment, violations of the rights of foreign citizens, and failure to provide assistance, according to the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) last week. The other four alleged captains also face provisional detention on the orders of the courts in the cities where they were apprehended.
The TSJC indicated that the individuals killed aboard that Cayuco during the eight-day journey were targeted for assassination based on their nationality, which differed from that of the alleged perpetrators. Investigative sources highlighted that high levels of violence have been observed on overcrowded vessels carrying over 200 people. Consequently, they affirm that such massive boats frequently encounter conflicts.
Assaulted, restrained, and cast into the sea
Only two months prior, there was a similar incident. On November 1, just two days before arriving at El Hierro with 207 individuals on board, the interior of another Cayuco became the setting for several crimes. This boat’s arrival might have gone unnoticed had one of the passengers not presented with an injury to the chest consistent with an assault by a bladed weapon, necessitating immediate admission in a serious condition to the island’s Hospital Nuestra Señora de los Reyes for surgical intervention.
Following the collection of survivor testimonies, the Civil Guard investigation revealed that one of the passengers had become disoriented and was displaying delusions, likely due to the rigours of the journey. The three captains responsible for maintaining order reacted violently towards him. In his defence, his brother and a neighbour intervened. All three were assaulted, restrained, and thrown overboard to instil fear in the others and prevent further disturbances. The next day, another migrant met a similar fate and was also cast into the sea.
Upon their arrival, the migrants reported that the defendants had allegedly been influenced by a marabou (a spiritual guide in Muslim cultures), who purportedly told them that one of the Cayuco’s occupants brought them bad luck during their voyage. After several weeks of investigation, the Civil Guard apprehended the seven individuals believed to be responsible back on the mainland.
