The organization Deport Them Now (DTN), which utilized the social media platform Telegram to call for a “hunt” of immigrants in Torre Pacheco, Murcia, has extensive connections with European far-right parties, including Portugal’s Chega.
The group was present at the Remigration Summit, which took place last May in Gallarate, Italy, gathering around 400 members of European far-right organizations, such as Alternative for Germany, Forum for Democracy (Netherlands), National Party (Ireland), Reconquest (France), the League (Italy), and Chega (Portugal).
The upcoming edition aims to include parties like Austria’s FPÖ, Belgium’s Vlaams Belang, Sweden’s Sweden Democrats, and Spain’s Vox.
The Spanish daily detailed that the far-right platform supported the “anti-Islamization” protest organized by Santiago Abascal’s party in Terrassa, Barcelona, on March 22. Later, it collaborated with Vox to create a poster calling for a demonstration at Kennedy Square in Barcelona on March 28, demanding the closure of the municipal immigrant reception center in Sant Gervasi.
At least one person was arrested and five were injured during the second consecutive night of clashes in Torre Pacheco. The violence was triggered by calls for a “hunt” of migrants, made by extremist and nationalist groups, following an assault on an elderly man by three youths of Moroccan origin last Wednesday.
The media outlet identified 17 discussions by autonomous community, with over 1,700 members, and noted that Murcia’s group had increased significantly following the assault on a 68-year-old man in Torre Pacheco by immigrant youths.
In a statement defending the “hunt” for migrants, the group accused “leftist, communist, and pro-immigration media” of “protecting the Maghreb criminal” over Spanish citizens.
“The Spanish population has no alternative but to defend itself against the criminal Maghreb invader, who constantly attacks us, assaults our women, and robs and beats our elderly. […] You knew this would happen. The Spanish people would not tolerate more assaults. The Spanish people would demonstrate their strength, as we have shown century after century. Do we not have the right to defend Spain? Our Constitution protects us: Article 30. Spaniards have the right and duty to defend Spain,” the statement read.
The same note also reaffirmed “the call for neighborhood patrols to pursue delinquent Maghrebs for July 15, 16, and 17.”
Notably, 14 individuals have been arrested since Saturday, including the three suspects of the assault that sparked the wave of violence in Torre Pacheco, where 30% of the 40,000 residents are immigrants or of foreign origin.
Among the detainees is Christian Lupiañez, identified as the leader of DTN in Spain. The 29-year-old is under preventive detention and is suspected of crimes including incitement of hatred, membership in an illicit association to commit discriminatory offenses, and illegal possession of weapons, according to a statement by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), the region where he resides and was arrested.
On Thursday, the Spanish government reported that the locality appeared to be returning to normal, though security forces will maintain a special presence in Torre Pacheco.
The violent assault of an elderly man in Torre Pacheco, in the province of Murcia, Spain, is being leveraged by the Iberian far-right to strengthen xenophobic messages against the Maghreb immigrant community through the circulation of unrelated videos.
