ATLANTIC ROUTE and SPAIN: Major drop in irregular crossings so far in 2026 ― More deaths and rescues ― Canary Islands government and parliament call for additional support from Spanish government and EU ― Dozens freed from trafficking network in…

• There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Western Africa migration route in the first nine months of 2026.
• There have been a number of deaths and rescues of people on the move on the Atlantic route in recent weeks.
• The Canary Islands government and parliament have called on both the Spanish government and the EU to support their efforts to respond to the recent increase in arrivals.
• Police in Guinea-Bissau have rescued dozens of people who had been detained by a suspected human trafficking network.

There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Western Africa migration route in the first nine months of 2026. According to data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on 19 October, 7,106 crossings were recorded between January and September 2026, a 45% decrease compared with the same period in the previous year. Frontex attributed the reduction in the number of crossings to “preventive measures implemented by Mauritania, and more recently by Senegal and The Gambia in cooperation with Spain and the EU”. Separately, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published its own data that confirmed a decrease in the number of arrivals in Europe from West Africa in the first half of 2026. Commenting on her organisation’s findings on 13 October, IOM Director General Amy Pope said: “Fewer arrivals in one place doesn’t mean the pressures have gone away. They often just shift to other routes”.

There have been a number of deaths and rescues of people on the move on the Atlantic route in recent weeks. At least 1,414 people arrived on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands) in approximately 20 small boats between 18 and 25 October while at least 4,162 people arrived on the Canary Islands in the two-month period between 16 August and 15 October. Elsewhere, at least 12 people died and an unknown of people were reported missing after their boat sank off the coast of The Gambia on 15 October while, on 27 September, 260 people were rescued from two boats off the coast of Mauritania.

The Canary Islands government and parliament have called on both the Spanish government and the EU to support their efforts to respond to the recent increase in arrivals. On 26 October, Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo announced that he had written to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to demand “urgent actions” and that he hoped to receive a response “between today and tomorrow”. He also described the situation on the island of El Hierro as “dramatic” and the conditions in the region’s centre for the temporary assistance of foreigners (CATE) as “very undesirable”. Clavijo’s letter and announcement came less than two weeks after the Canary Islands parliament unanimously adopted a non-legislative proposal (PNL) in which it called for an increase in the “human, material and technological resources dedicated to aeronaval surveillance” in the region. The PNL foresees “coordinated action of the Civil Guard, National Police, armed forces resources and Frontex in order to respond to the consequences of irregular migration in the islands” and called for “intensifying co-operation with the countries of origin and transit to curb irregular departures and dismantle the networks dedicated to human trafficking”.

Police in Guinea-Bissau have rescued dozens of people who had been detained by a suspected human trafficking network. According to the French Press Agency (AFP), 71 people of various nationalities were freed by the Guinea-Bissau Judicial Police following raids on two properties in the north of the capital, Bissau, on 21 October. AFP cited investigators who had reported that the network’s operation involved “human trafficking and fraud” and that victims, who were people hoping to migrate, had been lured by “false promises” of travel to and work in Europe, Canada and the US. It also noted Guinea-Bissau’s emergence as a departure point for people trying to travel to Europe via the Atlantic route. On 13 October, the IOM reported that “increased controls in traditional embarkation areas in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal have contributed to a southward dispersion towards The Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau”.

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