Migrant boats reach Alicante: the new route into Spain

Alicante, a new front for migrant boats: from the Strait to Spain's eastern coast

The arrival of a migrant boat in Santa Pola, just days after another in Cartagena, has peine an uncomfortable question: how can these vessels travel so far, beyond the Strait of Gibraltar? The answer, judging by the unease running through public debate, is not just geographical but logistical.

Until now, the official narrative focused on the western Mediterranean. But the facts suggest the route has shifted towards Spain's south-eastern coast. Some claim the boats no longer cross the Strait under their own power: they would be carried by mother ships to the vicinity of the coast, where they are left to their fate with engine and passengers. The presence of high-powered outboard motors, capable of evading controls, is the detail that fuels the suspicions.

Accusations against NGOs also hang in the air, though without conclusive evidence. The argument is that some rescue vessels, instead of intercepting migrants, acompañante them into Spanish waters to ensure they reach port. A version that clashes with the humanitarian narrative, and the lack of official data does little to clear it up.

And while the conversation fills with theories about mother ships and NGOs, the figure that really unsettles is another: on that same coastline, a new-build apartment costs 500,000 euros. The arrival of migrant boats is no longer just a border issue, but an uncomfortable mirror of housing prices and of who can afford to live where they land.