Politics · Spain · 10 hrs ago
Feijóo and Abascal accuse Sánchez of using army to move migrants
About 6,000 people reached the Canary Islands in boats during the first eight days of November, with El Hierro facing repeated rescues and pressure on reception services.
Opposition leaders Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the Popular Party and Santiago Abascal of Vox accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of using the army to move migrants from El Hierro to mainland Spain.
Feijóo said Spain should stop arrivals at the border, rather than move migrants around the country or send them elsewhere in Europe.
Abascal also criticised Sánchez, saying the army should not be used to distribute migrants across Spain.
Immigration has become a major issue in the election campaign, alongside housing, infrastructure and corruption.
The government has called a meeting for Tuesday about the situation in the Canary Islands, and Feijóo said the islands need more than a meeting.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of using the army to move migrants from El Hierro to mainland Spain.
The accusations came as about 6,000 people arrived in the Canary Islands by boat in the first eight days of November.
Feijóo said the government should prevent migration rather than distribute migrants across Spain and Europe.
Abascal accused Sánchez of not using the army to help during earlier crises in Valencia and Ceuta.
The government had called a meeting for Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Canary Islands.
- Who
- Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
- What
- They said he was using the army to move migrants from El Hierro to mainland Spain.
- When
- The accusations were made the day before the article was published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- The migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, particularly El Hierro, and were being moved to mainland Spain.
- Why
- Feijóo and Abascal criticised the government’s handling of migration and its response to earlier crises.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
About 6,000 people arrived in the Canary Islands by boat, with El Hierro particularly affected.
Feijóo and Abascal accused Sánchez of using the army to move migrants from El Hierro to mainland Spain.
The government had scheduled a meeting about the situation in the Canary Islands.
- Arrivals
- About 6,000 people reached the Canary Islands in the first eight days of November
- Most affected island
- El Hierro
- Accusers
- Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal
- Accused
- Pedro Sánchez
- Ceuta figure cited by Feijóo
- More than 80,000 people at the end of July
What people are saying
You have been unable to prevent the invasion of Ceuta, abandoning 80,000 compatriots to go on holiday, and now you deploy military aircraft to transfer migrants to mainland Spain, when the Canary Islands have been pleading for help for months.
You have to prevent the problem, not distribute it across Spain and export it to Europe.
He did not let the army help during the most critical hours after the flooding in Valencia. He did not allow the army to prevent the Moroccan aggression against Ceuta this summer. And now he wants to use the army to distribute the invaders from El Hierro across Spain.