Life of a Migrant Smuggler: “I Make Money, and Spain Pays for My Flight Back”
4th March 2025
The migration crisis in Europe has become a lucrative business for human traffickers who operate with total impunity, thanks to the European Union’s lax immigration policies. A clear example is the story of Ely, a Mauritanian who has turned the illegal transportation of migrants into a profitable business with minimal legal risks. His testimony highlights the failure of migration control policies and the ineffectiveness of repatriation agreements between Spain and the countries of origin.
Ely has built a reputation on the Atlantic coast of Mauritania as the “captain” who has completed four crossings to the Canary Islands without casualties or shipwrecks. However, the core issue is not his skill as a navigator but rather the ease with which this business thrives without real consequences for those responsible.
“I better cover myself up well. I don’t want to end up in jail next time,” Ely says in an interview with a Spanish media outlet. However, the reality is that, despite being detained multiple times in the Canary Islands, he has been repeatedly repatriated to Mauritania without significant repercussions. This situation raises a key question: How is it possible that someone actively involved in human trafficking has been sent back time and again without facing serious legal consequences?