People-smuggling mafias charge €4,500 for the Algeria-Balearics route
The crossing from Algeria to the Balearic Islands costs €4,500 per person. An analysis of a relentless business that unsettles those in power and one many Spaniards could not afford.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The illegal business of migration: €4,500 per person
The most expensive crossing in the Mediterranean is not advertised by travel agencies. Getting from Algeria to the Balearic Islands costs €4,500 per person, a fixed rate set by the networks dedicated to smuggling migrants. The figure has begun to circulate in economic analyses of the southern border, and it makes people uncomfortable: who is protecting those collecting the toll?
The contrast with the legal route is disheartening. With that money, it used to be possible to try for a tourist visa from almost every African and Asian country. Even so, thousands of people hand their savings over to an irregular network. The only possible reading is that desperation does not wait for consulate appointment slots.
The suspicions reach the top. Some claim, without evidence, that at the peak of the pyramid sit the King of Segarro and the Spanish government itself, the ultimate beneficiaries of a business that shows no sign of stopping despite all the rhetoric about tightening borders. The question of how many mafia bosses and accomplices have actually been arrested and jailed remains unanswered.
The irony is completed by the other side of the mirror. Many Spaniards would not have €4,500 to pay these same networks if they ever had to leave the country, something that cannot be ruled out given how purchasing power keeps eroding. The ability to move money separates those who migrate by choice from those who cannot even afford the ticket.
The business is unstoppable because supply does not set prices by decree; desperation does. As long as demand is not addressed with real alternatives, the rates will keep rising and the official response will remain press releases. Who is behind it all is the question nobody in power wants to answer.
The most expensive crossing in the Mediterranean is not advertised by travel agencies. Getting from Algeria to the Balearic Islands costs €4,500 per person, a fixed rate set by the networks dedicated to smuggling migrants. The figure has begun to circulate in economic analyses of the southern border, and it makes people uncomfortable: who is protecting those collecting the toll?
The contrast with the legal route is disheartening. With that money, it used to be possible to try for a tourist visa from almost every African and Asian country. Even so, thousands of people hand their savings over to an irregular network. The only possible reading is that desperation does not wait for consulate appointment slots.
The suspicions reach the top. Some claim, without evidence, that at the peak of the pyramid sit the King of Segarro and the Spanish government itself, the ultimate beneficiaries of a business that shows no sign of stopping despite all the rhetoric about tightening borders. The question of how many mafia bosses and accomplices have actually been arrested and jailed remains unanswered.
The irony is completed by the other side of the mirror. Many Spaniards would not have €4,500 to pay these same networks if they ever had to leave the country, something that cannot be ruled out given how purchasing power keeps eroding. The ability to move money separates those who migrate by choice from those who cannot even afford the ticket.
The business is unstoppable because supply does not set prices by decree; desperation does. As long as demand is not addressed with real alternatives, the rates will keep rising and the official response will remain press releases. Who is behind it all is the question nobody in power wants to answer.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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