Civil Guard officers warn that "swimmers continue to enter" Ceuta and demand 200 more agents

The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) has demanded this Tuesday the permanent incorporation of at least 200 agents in Ceuta given the pressure that the maritime border continues to endure. Its representatives assure that people continue to enter by swimming from Morocco and consider the pneumatic barrier recently installed next to the Tarajal breakwater insufficient.

The national organization secretary of the association, Germán Gómez, and its delegate in Ceuta, Rachid Sbihi, presented their requests during a press conference at the Autonomous Palace. "Swimmers continue to enter," they warned, although they avoided specifying how many accesses have been registered in recent days.

AUGC estimates that the Command needs another 200 civil guards on a stable basis, regardless of the extraordinary reinforcements sent during crises. The organization has maintained this demand for more than a decade and asks for special reinforcement of the Maritime Service and the Specialist Groups in Underwater Activities.

The request includes more vessels prepared for surveillance and rescue tasks. Sbihi recalled that one of the units incorporated a few months ago became inoperative just two days after its arrival. "We need resources, and permanently here in our city," he defended.

The association also demands to know clearly what actions agents can carry out after the recent installation of the maritime barrier. Its representatives have avoided confirming whether immediate rejections have occurred since its placement and have referred that question to the Government delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano.

The infrastructure was placed after the Supreme Court established that Spanish legislation did not protect "hot returns" of those attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla by swimming without overcoming a physical border containment element. AUGC considers that the line of buoys is still insufficient and calls for an effective extension of the Tarajal and Benzú breakwaters.

"We need resources permanently"

The organization has been demanding this extension since the Tarajal tragedy in February 2014, when 15 migrants died while trying to reach Ceuta by skirting the breakwater. The Civil Guard's actions were investigated for years and the case against 16 agents was eventually dismissed.

AUGC uses that procedure to demand written instructions and legal certainty for those who work at the border. The association maintains that Civil Guards must know precisely how to act in the face of entry attempts and what support decisions made during high-pressure situations will have.

The organization has also announced that it will again propose the people of Ceuta for the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord. It wants to recognize the "solidarity", "humanity" and "civility" demonstrated by citizens and social entities during the care of the thousands of people who arrived since the end of July.