Overview

• A July 9 assault on a 68-year-old local by three migrants sparked extremist groups to call for a “hunt for migrants” on encrypted messaging platforms.
• Nightly clashes saw mobs armed with baseball bats, stones and Molotov cocktails target Maghreb-origin immigrants in Torre-Pacheco’s streets.
• Spanish police and Guardia Civil intervened with 13 arrests, roadblocks on access routes and the expulsion of foreign agitators from Italy and Romania.
• Authorities have largely restored calm by July 17 and maintain a heightened security presence across the town.
• Investigations are under way into the transnational network “Deport them now EU” and potential ties between the right-wing party Vox and the extremist discourse.