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Mauritanian authorities say they have dismantled dozens of international migrant smuggling networks operating on their territory and warn that 2025 could be even deadlier for those attempting to reach Europe via Mauritania’s coasts.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine told parliament Friday that the government has broken up 88 smuggling rings since the beginning of the year, arresting 80 suspects in the capital, Nouakchott, and 39 more in the coastal city of Nouadhibou, a key departure point near Spain’s Canary Islands.
The suspects come from countries including Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, and Bangladesh.
“This proves that what’s happening goes beyond individual migration — it’s a cross-border, organized activity,” said Ould Mohamed Lemine. “The year 2025 will be even more deadly for irregular migrants unless the government intensifies its crackdown on smuggling networks and takes firm measures to limit this tragedy.”
He added that the bodies of many migrants have washed ashore along the country’s coastline in recent months. In an effort to address the crisis, Mauritania has regularized the status of more than 136,000 foreign nationals in what the minister described as the largest operation of its kind. However, he noted that many people failed to participate in the program “for suspicious reasons.”
The minister said recent investigations revealed a sharp increase in the number of undocumented migrants entering the country illegally, often through unofficial border crossings and without visas, residency permits, or refugee identification.
Since March, Mauritanian authorities have conducted widespread arrests and deportations of migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries including Mali, Senegal, Gambia, and Ivory Coast. The government says these individuals were in the country unlawfully.
These actions form part of a broader crackdown following the signing of a joint anti-migration agreement between Mauritania, Spain, and the European Union aimed at curbing irregular migration flows to Europe.
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