Overview

• Santiago Abascal called the Open Arms a “barco de negreros” and urged it be “confiscated and sunk” in posts on X referencing the ship’s arrival in Tenerife.
• Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo visited the vessel in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, praised its humanitarian work, and labeled Abascal “an auténtico fascista.”
• Open Arms and founder Óscar Camps rejected the call as “fascismo puro,” stressing the NGO’s ten years of life‑saving work and more than 70,000 rescues.
• Multiple national politicians, including ministers Félix Bolaños, Ángel Víctor Torres, Óscar Puente, Yolanda Díaz, and Ernest Urtasun, condemned the rhetoric as harmful to coexistence.
• The ship remains in the islands for outreach on the Atlantic migration route, with school visits and open days scheduled across October in Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Arrecife.