Susana Díaz: ‘Rule of law must be restored in La Linea’

The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, visited La Linea yesterday morning and called on Spain’s Ministry of the Interior to assign additional police resources to crack down on organised crime and ensure security in the Campo de Gibraltar.

The visit came in the wake of a string of violent drug-related incidents in the city, including one in which 20 hooded men stormed La Linea’s hospital to free an arrested smuggler who was being treated for injuries sustained while fleeing police.

Yesterday Mrs Díaz visited La Linea’s city council and met with its mayor, Juan Franco, as well as with other political groups, Ascteg and members of the Cross-Frontier Group.

As well as the hospital incident, she revealed that a La Linea judge had been threatened outside the city’s courts.

“There are groups trying to issue a challenge to the state, storming into the hospital or threatening a judge, [in part because] the Cadiz province lost more than 2,000 Spanish police and Guardia Civil officers between 2011 and 2016.”

The president rejected Spanish Government claims that these were “isolated incidents”.

She insisted on the urgent need for additional investment in police resources in the Campo, adding that a number of officers had been assigned to Frontex duties, meaning a drop in the number of personnel dealing directly with drug-trafficking in the area.

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