Riots have broken out in the southeastern Spanish town of Torre Pacheco, leading to the arrest of 14 men. This small town of 40,000 has a large immigrant population, which has been a source of discontent for locals.
Anti-migrant unrest erupted after a 68-year-old pensioner, Domingo Tomás Domínguez, was beaten up—allegedly “just for fun”—during his morning walk by three Maghrebi youths.
Domínguez told Spanish media that he was thrown to the ground and was not asked to hand over his money or belongings, nor could he understand the language they were speaking.
The three people arrested on suspicion of attacking the pensioner are all of Moroccan origin, in their early 20s, and none are residents of Torre Pacheco.
One of the suspects was arrested on Monday as he attempted to board a train in the Basque region to flee across the border to France.
Photos of the old man’s bruised face circulated on social media, sparking public outrage that led to the chaos.
Vigilance groups of men armed with batons could be seen roaming the streets of Torre Pacheco, reportedly seeking to protect the public from migrant attacks.
Unrest escalated when an extremist group called “Deport Them Now” called for attacks on North African men in a message on their Telegram channel. Authorities reached out to Telegram to ban the channel, but the message had already been received by the time the account was terminated.
Riots occurred over the weekend, when groups of hooded Spanish youths attacked vehicles and businesses owned by Moroccans. CCTV footage shown on Spanish television depicted a mob armed with bats and sticks vandalizing a shawarma shop.
Clashes were also reported between members of Deport Them Now and people of North African origin.
On Sunday night, journalists witnessed several dozen youths hurling glass bottles and other objects at nearly 130 riot police who were deployed from nearby provinces to quell the violence.
A leading member of the extremist group, whose name has been withheld, was detained in the northeastern town of Mataró on suspicion of posting the instigating messages on Telegram.
The Torre Pacheco mayor, Pedro Ángel Roca Ternel, publicly called for an end to the violence: “I call on residents to be calm, for tranquillity.”
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska blamed the violence on anti-immigration rhetoric from the nationalist party Vox, Spain’s third-largest political force.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal fired back, pointing out that the unrest was caused by the dangers of mass immigration, saying, “It has stolen our borders, it has stolen our peace, and it has stolen our prosperity.”
It’s clear that the citizens of Spain share this sentiment after continually enduring a climate of violence from migrants and a police force too overwhelmed to maintain order. The ruling coalition of Spain continues to blame Vox instead of its own ineffectual policies, which leave the borders wide open to unchecked immigration.
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