The Civil Guard has clarified the sequence of events that led to a maritime tragedy in December 2022, when several migrants faced grave danger near Cartagena in Murcia. Survivors reported that fourteen people were forced to jump from a patera, under the threat of a machete, during the voyage from the coast. Some who had embarked by barge-taxi eventually returned to Africa. In the wake of the investigation, two suspects, aged 27 and 33, have been detained on charges that include human trafficking, membership in a criminal organization, and murder. After their appearance in court, they were ordered held without bail while the inquiry continues.
Six individuals reached the shore by swimming, but four lost their lives and four were reported missing and presumed dead. The Armed Institute released details of the incident, noting that a couple on a sailboat off Punta Espada in Cartagena discovered the corpses of two teenagers in the water. Officials from the Benemérita Judicial Police, who led the investigation, located the six migrants near Cala Reona in Cabo de Palos a few hours later, while survivors recounted the harrowing events.
They Saw a Patrol Boat
Witnesses described paying between six and seven thousand euros to board the barge. As the vessel neared Cartagena, a police boat became visible and armed men with machetes forced fourteen migrants, about half a kilometer from shore, to throw themselves into the sea and swim away in a panic. Five men and one woman managed to reach shore, surviving the ordeal. Exhausted and disoriented, they walked for nearly two hours before finding a bar where a helpful worker alerted the Civil Guard and Red Cross volunteers provided immediate support.
Survivors did not have life jackets, flashlights, or any other basic safety gear on board. The only usable feature was improvised USB charging slots for keeping mobile devices powered during the trip.
Two bodies were recovered the same day, with a third found nearby, and a fourth later located in a difficult-to-access area near Lonja de Cabo de Palos. The authorities described signs that the fourth body had been at sea for several days before being discovered.
Another Attempt
About fifteen days after the initial incident, a second patera carrying eleven people was located off the Cartagena coast. The Civil Guard Maritime Services intervened with a patrol vessel, and the crew attempted the same brutal tactic to coerce passengers into the sea, roughly five kilometers offshore. This time, the migrants resisted the coercion, and the authorities were able to board the vessel, rescue the passengers, and detain the two crew members.
During the arrests, digital devices were seized and later analyzed. The early morning hours around December 8 were scrutinized to determine whether the second incident involved the same perpetrators. Prosecutors allege that the same individuals orchestrated the earlier deaths and coerced travelers in the later operation as well.