150 dead on the Canary Islands route: the mafia business behind it

The shipwreck that exposes the business of illegal immigration

More than 150 people missing in the Atlantic. A pirogue with 200 people on board leaves Gambia on 28 June. Only 38 are rescued adrift off Mauritania a month later. According to UNHCR, the death toll stands at 143. The figure is devastating, yet the public debate focuses on who is to blame, not on the economic cost of a route that moves millions.

Some point to the mafias that operate with total impunity, loading flimsy boats with dozens of people and a minimum of fuel. A recurring analysis argues that many of these crossings begin with mother ships that bring migrants closer to Canary Islands waters and then abandon them, cutting sailing time but not the risk. The reality is that every shipwreck means spending on rescues, repatriations and assistance that ultimately falls on European taxpayers.

On the other hand, mass regularization policies and aid to NGOs are cited as a pull factor that increases migratory pressure. However, the ultimate responsibility for these tragedies lies with the traffickers who exploit other people's desperation. The business is lucrative: fees per person reach several thousand euros. As long as trafficking networks are not dismantled, shipwrecks will remain the grimmest statistic of the Canary Islands route. The prediction is that, without changes in cooperation with countries of origin and transit, the death toll in the Atlantic will keep rising.

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