"I'm going to rip your head off wherever I see you. Yes, yes, record it, record it," threatens one of the workers from the company Lanzaokupa to a group of citizens living in a group of unfinished and occupied dwellings in Playa Blanca (Yaiza), in the south of Lanzarote.
More than a dozen complaints have piled up at the Yaiza Civil Guard command post, casting doubt on the practices carried out by this eviction company in Lanzarote. The reasons for the complaints are repeated: threats and coercion. Although others are also added for theft.
It's already dark outside. Three knocks on the door. "Chick, do you want some rice?" says a voice on the other side. Another three knocks on the door. From inside the dwelling, in the dark, one of the occupants of the abandoned homes in Villas Camelot in Playa Blanca (Yaiza) records the scene. Again, knocks, this time on the window.
Sticks, blows, and threats
"They treat us like animals," says Juan, one of the residents of these properties, who stated in declarations to *La Voz* that the employees of this company made a bonfire outside, "make noise" during the night, installed a noisy light generator next to the homes, and allegedly cut the cables of another light generator that the neighbors had installed to have electricity in the twelve homes.
Two days ago, Jorge (fictitious name) had to go to the Playa Blanca Health Center in the early morning hours after suffering a physical assault. In statements to this media outlet, he indicated that one of the workers from this eviction company allegedly hit him on the head. The medical report issued at the health center states that he had a small scalp injury, as well as wounds on his right arm.
That same day, he filed a complaint at the Civil Guard Command, where he accused the company's workers of coercing him for several days. Among other points, he stated that the company's workers insult, threaten, and intimidate him and remain at his door 24 hours a day.
"All night with a stick in hand, as if we were thieves. You can't go out peacefully. At 7:00 AM, prostrate with sticks," says another citizen in a video sent to this outlet; in the images, a man dressed in black can be seen walking with a stick in his hand."If you have a problem, you and I will go alone and kill each other like real men, and then we'll shake hands, and I'll help you with whatever you want, but that mean face," is heard in another of the recordings sent to this outlet. One of the occupants identifies the voice urging the fight to start as that of one of the Lanzaokupa workers.
An unprecedented housing crisis
The lack of housing in Lanzarote, where rental prices continue to hit historic highs month after month, has pushed many families to occupy substandard housing in an unfinished construction project in the tourist town.
Most of the residents are migrants who work in the hotels of Playa Blanca or in the construction sector.
These villas are part of an unfinished development phase of Villas Camelot, a construction project within the Playa Blanca Partial Plan, located between Malvasía and Laurel streets. While some homes were completed and are used for vacation rentals, others remained as shells until now. These homes have different owners.
These properties are located one street away from the skeleton evicted in January 2024 by the Justice system, a decision that was later revoked by the Provincial Court, and which ended up leaving a hundred people and around 24 minors on the street.
