OLIVE PRESS
A TUNNEL TO MOROCCO is it really feasible, or little more than a pipe dream?
GIBRALTAR
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Vol. 10 Issue 241
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February 12th - February 25th 2025
Sideways glance
Brexit
"We'll have to wait who knows how many more years, after this issue started in 2016," Franco added, highlighting that nine years have passed since the Brexit vote without a concrete plan for his city. Among the ideas mooted to boost La Linea’s economy is a special tax regime in the Campo de Gibraltar, similar to the one seen in Ceuta, in order to offset the Rock’s low-tax advantage over its Spanish neighbours. But Franco challenged the minister to visit La Linea and explain directly to residents why the government ‘won't implement any measures until an agreement is reached.’
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The border reopened 40 years ago last week after 16 years of Franco’s efforts to punish Gibraltarians into becoming Spanish. His plans backfired spectacularly and reordered Gibraltar society, startSee page 4 ing with its dominant tongue.
PAPERS PLEASH
Cop facing ‘disciplinary probe’ for ‘looking drunk’ and checking passports out of uniform is the ‘rogue officer’ border chief 33
SPANISH police have confirmed to the Olive Press they are investigating a senior officer accused of checking passports at the Gibraltar border while allegedly drunk and off duty. He is in line to face ‘disciplinary proceedings’ after we sent a video of the cop swaying amid the traffic while donning civilian clothes. A well-placed La Linea source meanwhile, expressed ‘surprise’ that the policeman checking passports was the head of the Central Border Unit, Chief Inspector David Barrero, because ‘he had been transferred away to other duties’. A spokesman for the Policia Nacional said the force was ‘determining what consequences may arise and whether to start disciplinary proceedings.’ Barrero had already been dubbed a ‘rogue officer’ after he took it upon himself last year to impose Schengen controls at the border – against the orders of his own superiors. In the video, filmed after dark a fortnight ago, a white-haired man in jeans and jumper is seen staggering around demanding to see passports.
EXCLUSIVE By Walter Finch
Drivers clearly look on in astonishment as other uniformed officers do nothing to intervene. Despite the lack of sound, the officer can be seen lurching backwards and urges a car to come forward, before leaning on its bonnet to inspect the passport of a waiting motorcyclist. Barrero has risen to notoriety in Gibraltar for his efforts to unilaterally tear up the current transitional arrangement for the border with Spain since Brexit kicked in in 2021.
Angry
It was his instructions to stamp Gibraltar passports, on October 11 and November 22, that led to long queues gathering on the La Linea side. As we reported on our front page in November, this dealt a blow to economic activities on the Rock and led to him being dubbed by the Gibraltar government as a ‘rogue’ officer. The disruption was so severe that St
ROGUE: The ‘drunk’ man checking passports has been confirmed as the controversial border chief Bernard’s Hospital had to postpone various operations scheduled for the day due to a lack of cross-border workers. On both days, the order was only later rescinded following an angry phone call from Madrid. Barrero followed those stunts by filing a denuncia in La Linea court against his own superiors for misconduct and coercion. The veteran border cop argued the current ‘relaxed’ border controls violate the Schengen code, leaving him with no legal protection in case of an incident, such as a terror
CRASH TEST GIBRALTAR’s latest emergency response drills took place on the runway this time – especially timely in light of recent aviation disasters in the US and South Korea. The spectacular live action simulation included teams from 22 different agencies Airfield Fire and Rescue Service and the police, both Gibraltar Defence Police and the Royal Gibraltar Police. They were put to the test with the scenario of an aeroplane – in this case a bus – that had skidded off the runway at Gibraltar Airport and thrown passengers onto the tarmac and into the sea. In spite of the test taking place after dark in treacherously wet and harsh conditions, Wing Commander Tom Harvey was pleased with how it went and said ‘we are always learning lessons.’
attack. A La Linea judge has now called Barrero to testify on the current border arrangements. Spain’s far-right party Vox meanwhile, has backed Barrero submitting questions to the Spanish parliament. The Olive Press understands however, that Barrero directly disobeyed orders to ‘go to war’ against his superiors. It came after a new commissioner for La Linea, Maria Jose Martinez moved control of the border, away from his unit into the hands of a specific border force in April last year. The senior La Linea source told the Olive Press: “It is not his job to take the border and diplomacy into his own hands.
Political
ACTION: Emergency services put to the test
PIC CREDIT: X / RAF Gibraltar
LA LINEA'S mayor has expressed his 'healthy envy' at how the UK treats Gibraltar – in stark contrast to the border town’s own relationship with Spain. Juan Franco took aim at Spain's finance minister for refusing to aid the struggling border town, which is economically dependent on the Rock and the stalled talks for a post-Brexit deal. His comments come after minister Maria Jesus Montero suggested that any special measures for La Linea would have to wait until a Brexit agreement with Gibraltar is reached. "We see how, unfortunately, our future as a city is once again put below national interests, ignoring the needs of this territory - the only one really affected by what happens in the future [with the Gibraltar deal]," Franco declared last week.
“The sheer number of people out on the airfield responding at speed—it just demonstrates the strength of our response,” he told GBC.
“It was a political decision whether he agrees or not. It is not something a chief inspector like Barrero should be deciding.” The Gibraltatar government declined to comment on ‘the internal affairs of foreign uniformed bodies.’ There have been over 15 rounds of talks since 2021 to try and sort out the status of Gibraltar within Schengen. Meanwhile, 15,000 workers cross the border into Gibraltar every day to work, with a third of La Linea’s workforce earning a living on the Rock. Opinion Page 6