Overview

• Admiral Antonio Piñeiro set out the stance during a Nueva Economía Fórum defense event, replying to a question from Vox’s Javier Ortega Smith about ramping up deployments in the Strait and near the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
• Piñeiro stressed that naval crews must assist people in danger at sea, rejecting expectations that warships will push migrant boats away or “combat” irregular crossings.
• He said vessels can identify suspected human‑smuggling craft and place them at the disposal of justice, referencing EU operations such as Atalanta, and recalled humanitarian work under Operation Sophia.
• Describing past rescues, he recounted facing hundreds in the water with limited capacity to pull people aboard, highlighting the severe human and operational constraints of such missions.
• Piñeiro noted the armed forces can support origin and transit states, citing work in Mauritania, while Vox posted a rebuttal accusing the government of using the military for partisan ends and the PP has echoed calls to deploy the Navy, with no change in naval policy announced.