Six Civil Guard associations have signed a joint press release to show their "total and absolute disagreement" with the possible dissolution of the Reserve and Security Group number 8 of the Canary Islands.
According to these unions, the Headquarters of Specialty and Reserve Units (JUER) "would have decided to eliminate this fundamental unit for the security of the archipelago" and have even indicated that in the central bodies of the Benemérita "the irrevocable decision to dissolve this Unit has already been accepted."
These associations have indicated that the "decision taken in Madrid, without apparent objective reason, would entail serious damage to the security of the Canary Islanders", by not having this unit specialized in "the only ultra-peripheral Spanish region recognized by the European Union."
According to the aforementioned press release, the Reserve and Security Group number eight is in charge of, among other missions, "responding and providing service in large concentrations, demonstrations, the maintenance and restoration of public order; act in alerts of incidents with Nuclear, Radiological, Biological and Chemical (NRBQ) risk and adds that "all its members have the necessary qualification" and the Unit has "individual and collective means to deal in the first instance with incidents, accidents and criminal acts with nuclear, radiological, bacteriological and chemical risk with risk to people and property. This unit is also in charge of providing collaboration in matters of Civil Protection, in particular cases of serious risk, catastrophe or public calamity, such as the large fires that occurred in the Canary Islands, volcanological crises on the islands of El Hierro and La Palma; search for missing persons; act and neutralize terrorist threats among other essential specialized security services, such as the fight against criminal organizations. Likewise, they have indicated that "it must be remembered that Spain is currently at anti-terrorist level four." In this sense, these unions have assured that "the Canary Islands are undoubtedly a gateway for this type of crime" and has pointed to "the massive arrival of illegal immigration."
They state that this Unit provides security for critical infrastructures susceptible to attacks such as ports, airports, sensitive facilities such as electrical and thermal power plants. For this reason, they have denounced that the disappearance of this elite unit "will also have a serious impact on the control of immigration in the Canary Islands, a region that faces increasing migratory pressure."
In the same document they have indicated that the "planning of the dissolution has been carried out with the utmost secrecy, without those affected themselves being aware of it by official means as of the present date."
The professional associations of the Civil Guard in unity of action have denounced the "lack of consideration for the safety of Canary citizens, as well as the insensitivity to the situation of the agents and their families." At the same time, they have recalled that "the lack of personnel in the Corps in the Canary Islands is alarming." For them, the dissolution of this group "would further aggravate this problem, weakening security and order in the archipelago, a fundamental premise to sustain the Canary Islands as an ideal location for safe tourism."
To conclude, the professional associations demand "the immediate review of this decision and the adoption of measures that allow the continuity of the GRS No. 8 in the Canary Islands, guaranteeing the safety of its citizens and the well-being of the agents assigned to the region."
And likewise, we have asked ourselves "if this is the beginning of the dismantling of the Civil Guard in the Canary Islands, as is happening in the Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia, and which will be the next units to be suppressed."
The statement is signed by the Professional Association of Corporals of the Civil Guard, the ASES-GC union, the Official Union of Professional Civil Guard, the AUGC, the AEGC and JUCIL.