The Spanish government has given Morocco a significant number of modern border control technologies, including 188 thermal camera systems and night vision systems in recent years to improve security along their shared border, Spanish outlet “Vozpópuli” wrote.
The equipment Spain supplied includes 98 portable thermal cameras for surveillance, 25 night vision devices, and a variety of marine communications equipment, “La Razon” reported.
The European Union funded the equipment, but the International Foundation for Ibero-American Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), a Spanish group, managed the purchase for the Kingdom’s security forces.
The European Commission paid FIIAPP 44 million euros to purchase surveillance equipment on behalf of the Moroccan Ministry of Interior.
The new resources exceed the current equipment available to southern Spain’s national police and civil guard.
In contrast, records from the Spanish government show that since 2019, just 37 pieces of identical equipment have been purchased for the authorities in the South of Spain.
The majority of these purchases were made with funding from the Regional Center for Analysis and Intelligence Against Drug Trafficking (CRAIN) or Europol’s EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) credits, with most of the goods’ prices unknown.
The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) has criticized the distribution of resources, citing an apparent imbalance in equipment allotment between Moroccan and Spanish security forces.
The AUGC has questioned the Interior Ministry’s treatment of Spain’s security services, pointing out continuous shortages of manpower, vehicles, and technological items required to combat immigration and drug trafficking.
While the Spanish government has invested in border surveillance systems for its security forces, such as the 1.86 Mln euros integrated border surveillance system deployed in the Civil Guard Command of Melilla, the level of assistance granted to Morocco has raised concerns.
As Spain continues to face problems posed by irregular migration and drug smuggling along its southern borders, the discussion over the appropriate allocation of resources between internal and external security measures is expected to continue.