The Civil Guard has arrested seven people for allegedly murdering four migrants during the crossing of a canoe that arrived at the port of La Restinga, in El Hierro, on November 3.
In a statement, the Armed Institute has considered the seven detainees as bosses of the cayuco in which 207 people were traveling.
The investigation began following the testimonies of the occupants of the cayuco, who recounted the details of the trip to the Civil Guard, and proceeded to arrest the alleged perpetrators, who were staying at the Las Raíces care center in Tenerife.
In that canoe, the Civil Guard recalled that one of the migrants disembarked in La Restinga had to be transferred to the hospital, where he underwent surgery due to a deep wound in his chest, which could be compatible with a stab.
During the investigations, the agents were able to verify that the boat had initially left Gambia and that it made a stop on the Senegalese island of Bassoul, where most of the occupants boarded.
After three days of sailing, three of the skippers, in charge of ensuring order inside the boat, “decided to retaliate against several migrants,” according to the Civil Guard’s reconstruction of the events.
“The reason was that one of the occupants, possibly affected by the harshness of the trip, suffered an episode of disorientation, causing the three bosses to blame him for the misfortune of the journey, inflicting severe beatings on him and those defending him. As punishment, they allegedly decided to murder four of them to frighten the rest of the migrants in the cayuco,” says the Civil Guard.
They also add that three of the four victims have been fully identified and that their families have been informed of what happened and of the arrest of those allegedly responsible.
Regarding the fourth victim, efforts are currently being made to find out his identity and be able to contact his relatives.
Source: www.eldiario.es
