ANDALUCIA has called on Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez to revive an elite anti-narco unit as concerns grow over escalating drug violence across the region.
In a letter to the PM, Andalucian president Juanma Moreno warned that criminal activity has surged throughout Andalucia since the Guardia Civil’s OCON-Sur unit was disbanded in 2022.
He added that ‘drug mafias have established Andalucia as one of their main bases of operations,’ stressing the situation was fuelling fear among residents.
Moreno’s request comes after a string of gruesome killings rocked Andalucia in recent weeks, including a shocking incident in which a pregnant woman was gunned down alongside her teenage son and mother in a suspected narco revenge attack in Huelva.
In his letter, which he posted on X, Moreno said: “Time and events have shown that dismantling OCON-Sur was a mistake which, unfortunately, is having serious consequences for our officers and citizens.
“It is never too late to humbly acknowledge mistakes and correct them.”
The Spanish government immediately rejected Moreno’s call, pointing out that it had already poured €190 million into a separate security plan to tackle the region’s drug gangs.
Pedro Fernandez, the central government’s delegate to Andalucia, even blasted Moreno over the plea, dismissing it as ‘a display of ignorance, lack of understanding and contempt’ for the work of the security forces.
Calls to reinstate OCON-Sur, which specialised in fighting drug trafficking in the Strait of Gibraltar area, have grown since it was disbanded as part of a government-led reshuffle of the force.
Critics of the unit’s disappearance include far-right party Vox and Moreno’s own Partido Popular (PP), which has filed motions calling for its reinstatement multiple times over the past four years.
During its four years of operation, OCON-Sur was one of the most successful drug-fighting outfits in Spanish history.
After its establishment in 2018, it recorded almost 20,000 arrests and investigations and seized around 1,400 tonnes of drugs, according to official figures cited by Diario de Sevilla.
The unit seized 676 tonnes of hashish in 2021 alone – the highest figure recorded in 18 years.
However, the outfit later became mired in controversy after one of its chiefs, Lieutenant David Oliva, was spotted at a party thrown by a prominent drug trafficker in the Campo de Gibraltar.
Oliva was subsequently placed under investigation over alleged links to drug gangs in 2023, six months after OCON-Sur was disbanded.
As controversy over OCON-Sur and anti-narco efforts continues to rage, drug violence continues to escalate across Andalucia.
On August 16, a 45-year-old man was shot dead in Utrera, Sevilla province, with the Guardia Civil reportedly investigating the killing as a possible settling of scores.
The following night, three people were killed in a shooting in Isla Cristina, Huelva, in what investigators believe may have been a revenge attack linked to rival drug-trafficking clans.
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The victims were a 39-year-old pregnant woman, her 62-year-old mother, and a 16-year-old boy.
Two others were injured, including one seriously, while the unborn baby also died.
In his letter to Sanchez, Moreno also cited the deaths of four Guardia Civil officers in the past two years as evidence of the growing dangers faced by agents tackling the drug trade.
Two officers, David Perez and Miguel Angel Gonzalez, were killed in February 2024 when a drug-smuggling speedboat rammed their patrol vessel in the port of Barbate, Cadiz.
Two years later, a further two officers were killed when Guardia Civil patrol boats collided during a pursuit of a suspected drug-running tender off the coast of Huelva.
Moreno said the deaths highlighted the need for a stronger response from the central government, arguing that the region was facing an ‘escalation of insecurity’ that required a decisive state response.
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