Spain is rapidly becoming a popular destination for African migrants hoping to illegally enter the European Union, as recent events show.
Although the usual route African migrants attempt to take is through Italy or Malta, recent activity shows that Spain is beginning to receive more migrants than ever before.
Over the past several months, Italy and Malta have closed their ports to illegal migrants as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which makes them much less tempting targets than they were before.
Ships operated by pro-migrant NGOs have also reduced their operations in the Mediterranean of late, which further hampers the migrants’ efforts.
To attempt to reach Spain as an alternative, migrants depart from western Africa and cross the Atlantic, hoping to reach the Canary Islands, an autonomous region that is under Spanish jurisdiction.