Protecting borders

MALAGA was in the spotlight for the launch of a mission to patrol borders in the Mediterranean.
Operation Indalo 2015 was launched on Monday, June 1, in Malaga Port by Guardia Civil Director General, Arsenio Fernández de Mesa, and the Euro Weekly News was there to witness the event.
The mission, like sister operations Triton and Poseidon in the Mediterranean, has been put in place by Frontex, the European Union’s border control body, with the two-fold objective of assisting in the rescue of migrants at sea, and strengthening EU external borders.
The director general said: “Irregular immigration is a human drama that must be answered, taking into account the need to prevent illegal entry but also the need to save lives.”
Operation Indalo sees more Spanish resources being put into action under the co-ordination of Frontex in order to address the worsening migrant situation. It will cover the southern coast of Spain from Algeciras to Murcia, and will be assisted by Belgium, Iceland, Portugal, Finland, Italy, France, Romaniaand Switzerland.
The ship Rio Segura (pictured on front page)  and a specially-adapted air/sea rescue aircraft will initially form the Spanish contingent.
Fernández also stated: “Operation Indalo stands out as a clear case of success. We have increased figures from 2011 where 2,600 immigrants and 12 tonnes of drugs were found, to exceeding 4,000 immigrants and over 31 tonnes of drugs discovered in 2014.”
Also in attendance at the ceremony was Jorge Salvador HernándezMollar, representing the Government of Malaga, Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre Prados, Lieutenant General Ops Command, Guardia Civil, Pablo Martin Alonso, head of Fiscal and Borders, Juan Luis Perez Martin, and the Colonel in Chief of Maritime Service Juan VargaAldana.
The Guardia Civil will also participate during the summer months in Operation Triton, implemented by the EU to combat illegal immigration and strengthening border security on the Italian coast.