Entre Mares once again denounces “the dehumanisation and injustice suffered by the planet’s most vulnerable people”
Entre Mares offered its condolences to the families of twelve people who died in the latest three deadly crossings to the Canary Islands. In a statement read in Puerto del Rosario by the association’s president, Marco Rodríguez, the group called for safe routes from Africa and more resources to search for and rescue people risking their lives at sea. It criticised the externalisation of borders and questioned the role of the media.
At noon this Wednesday in Church Square in Puerto del Rosario, following the minute’s silence with which Entre Mares honours the memory of those who have died off the Canary Islands’ coasts, the association’s president, Marco Rodríguez, read a statement in which Entre Mares once again denounced the migration policies of Spain and the European Union and called for safe routes for those setting out from Africa.
“We will not remain silent in the face of the inhumanity of these deaths, or the many hardships endured by those who manage to survive and reach our shores,” Rodríguez read.
He stressed that these deaths are preventable, calling on representatives of the State and the Canary Islands to support the opening of legal and safe routes.
Externalisation: a business that commodifies the right to mobility
Rodríguez accused Spain and Europe of pursuing a policy in 2025 of “externalising borders, using violence against those seeking protection in a safe country, and causing death”.
He highlighted the situation in Mauritania in particular. According to analysis by the NGO Caminando Fronteras, new control mechanisms have reduced departures, while various organisations have documented allegations of torture and abuse against migrants and refugees.
“This transnational system, in which mobility is managed by outsourcing expulsions to third countries, has consolidated a framework of international cooperation that turns migration control into a transnational business, capable of commodifying the right to mobility from origin to destination.”
Entre Mares also criticised the media’s use of the expression “the drama of immigration” and urged them to report rigorously.
Twenty-seven boats missing
Entre Mares highlighted figures published by Caminando Fronteras. Between 1 January and 31 May 2026, the NGO recorded 1,317 deaths, including 142 women and 129 minors. In the first five months of the year, 27 boats disappeared with everyone on board.
The association also said that “current search and rescue practices are inadequate for the complex needs of this route”.
It called for more resources for search operations at sea and for rescue protocols that meet the needs of the Canary Islands route.
“The time for hiding behind fences and borders is over,” the group said towards the end of its statement.
“To defend their dignity is to defend our own,” Rodríguez concluded.
Source: La Voz de Fuerteventura