On that fateful November 28, 1978, a group of assailants boarded the fishing vessel "Cruz del Mar" and murdered seven of the ten fishermen who were fishing in Saharan waters. Among the three fishermen who survived that day is Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, who is part of the Canarian Association of Victims of Terrorism (ACAVITE).
What happened that November 28 in Saharan waters is still today, thirty years later, a mystery only half solved. The causes are not clear. While Morocco blamed the Polisario Front, arguing that it intended to prevent the exploitation of fishing in areas it considered its own, the Sahrawi people claimed that this murder was prepared and executed by Morocco to boycott Spain's understanding with the Polisario Front. On the other hand, the victims continue to denounce that the Spanish Government did not investigate the facts in detail.
Heartfelt Tribute
In memory of the deceased, and with the desire that the event does not fall into oblivion, the Canarian social organization Titeroygakat has organized once again various events to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the tragedy. A posthumous tribute to the memory of the victims of the Cruz del Mar convened at 5:30 p.m. at the centenary cross located on the Islote del Francés and, later, a funeral mass and a floral offering will serve to remember the tragedy that in 1978 shocked the society of Lanzarote, more directly the neighborhood of Valterra, which felt the drama as its own. The pain, rage, and impotence were mixed in those days and many are the "conejeros" who intend that this event is not forgotten.
The Party of Independents of Lanzarote, which considers the events as terrorist acts, assures in a press release that the fishermen of the Cruz del Mar were not the only ones who between 1976 and 1985 were assaulted in Saharan waters, since a total of 17 fishermen were murdered in similar circumstances. In addition, the PIL speaks of "discriminatory treatment" towards Canarian citizens, since they claim that the victims did not receive the attention, care or esteem from the State that they claim "citizens victims of the conflict in the Basque Country" did enjoy.
