By Humphrey Carter
Copyright majorcadailybulletin
A total of 46 immigrants were rescued on Sunday night thirteen miles south of the island of Cabrera, having managed to reach the Balearics aboard two small boats. The Guardia Civil and Maritime Rescue Service rescued a total of 22 people of sub-Saharan origin aboard one of the boats at 00:10 on Monday, located thirteen miles south of Cabrera, according to the Government Delegation in the Balearics.
The other boat, which was also located thirteen miles south of Cabrera and was found at the same time, was carrying a total of 24 people, all of Maghreb origin. So far this year, 289 small boats have arrived irregularly on the Balearic coast, carrying a total of 5,373 immigrants, according to EFE’s count based on data from the Government Delegation in the Balearics.
During 2024, 5,882 migrants reached the archipelago by sea, according to the Ministry of the Interior’s Annual National Security Report. The president of the Balearic government, Marga Prohens, has warned that the migration route between Algeria and the Balearics is ‘the fastest growing in Europe’ and has once again demanded the deployment of Frontex personnel in the region, but that request will have to be made by central government in Madrid, not Palma.
“We have reviewed the data and the route between Algeria and the Balearics is the one that is growing the most, not only in Spain but in the whole of Europe,” she said. To address this situation, the regional leader has called on the government to intensify its diplomatic relations with Algeria, as promised by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, “to control the arrival of small boats and fight against the mafias that traffic in human lives and make money from this route.”
“Since 2021, Frontex has been warning about the situation on the Balearic route. Since 2024, it has raised the alert to medium level and we are aware that since 2025 they have considered raising it to high level so that they can be deployed,” she said. She explained this measure would allow the Balearics to have human resources specialised in border control and migration management. It would also provide material resources such as drones and radars. “It would mean that when these people arrive, the checks and interviews carried out would be much more thorough and the information we have to know how to act in each case would be more reliable,” she added.
