The news is from last weekend and refers to the arrest in the Azores (Faial and S. Miguel) of two alleged “operatives” of an international drug trafficking network, particularly cocaine. A third would be arrested on the mainland, all part of a network of around fifty in 11 countries, and from an investigation that began in 2020. The Azores have been mentioned as a support base for international trafficking, which uses sailboats to cross the Atlantic, mainly from South America to Europe. The subject has been studied, and the main aspects of this issue are recalled later. Just look at the map and see where the Azores are. It is all too clear that the use of sailing boats is the most advisable vehicle for those involved in drug trafficking. In this case, the detainees were allegedly two foreigners who, at crucial points – Faial and S. Miguel – provided technical support to the boats. Now, more than ever, the activity is undercover and well-disguised. More and more foreigners are living in the Azores, and perhaps no one is asking them about the origin of the assets that allow them to acquire land, buy or build houses, and live without any apparent profession or occupation.

The more sophisticated are careful, so their integration into the environment is natural. International airports are controlled, and getting to the Azores by air is not as easy. That leaves the sea and, among them, the sailboats disguised as tourists. But if the subject has been studied in all its aspects, why isn’t there more border control? Lack of resources? There are hundreds of sailboats crossing our waters and the overwhelming majority, in the good old fashioned way of the saga of the discoveries, arrive at the islands to “make the water”. Is it necessary to use so many resources to carry out this inspection, given the “techniques” used by the traffickers to disguise themselves? We’re not even talking about those who don’t touch our ports but cross our EEZ (controlled area) because it’s more challenging to patrol there, mile by mile, but today, we have the means to do this without having to involve large planes or ships and lots of people. Indeed, we have a million square kilometers of sea, but if we don’t do anything about it, those on the prowl will enter our backyard without asking permission. This is probably all thought out, and we don’t intend to lecture anyone, but the arrests that have now been made are an example of the fact that the Azores serve as a transit and support point for large international trafficking networks. We think the country could do more here – we also pay taxes.

Opinion of the editorial board of Diáio Insular, Terceira Azores–Jos;e Lourenço director

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from various leading thinkers, writers, and editorial boards of newspapers from the Azores to give the diaspora and those interested in the current Azores a sense of the significant opinions on some of the issues that affect the archipelago.