A cruise ship with 1,500 passengers is detained in Barcelona due to the presence of 69 Bolivians without visas

An MSC cruise ship with about 1,500 passengers on board has been detained since Tuesday morning in the port of Barcelona due to the presence of 69 Bolivian citizens who, presumably, are traveling with false visas, as confirmed by police sources. The irregularities in the documentation of these passengers, among whom there are 14 minors, were discovered en route, once the ship had set sail from Brazil on a pleasure trip through the Mediterranean that had Italy as its final destination. The Spanish authorities have denied the disembarkation of the 69 Bolivians, although at 1:00 p.m. this Wednesday the rest of the travelers were authorized to leave the ship for a few hours. The cruise ship remains stranded waiting to find a solution and while anguish grows among the relatives of the Bolivians, who have arrived from cities throughout Spain and are waiting for them at the terminal.

“We are prisoners here, along with the Bolivians. We don't understand why they don't let us get off,” Rafael Kondlatsch, a 40-year-old Brazilian journalist who embarked in his country on March 19, complained mid-morning. Like the rest of the passengers, he remained locked in the ship since 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the time when the cruise ship was to depart again and continue its route, with several stops, to Venice. MSC cruises has already announced to travelers that they will at least skip the visit to Ajaccio (Corsica), which was next after Barcelona. “They don't inform us, they barely tell us that there is a migration problem,” Kondlatsch laments.

Around 1:00 p.m. and through the public address system, the company announced that it will organize a free charter flight to transport those who wish to travel to Rome. It has also announced that travelers – who will be compensated and receive discounts for future cruises – can leave the ship as long as they have their passport with them and return before two in the morning on Thursday. All except the 69 Bolivians with allegedly false documentation, who remain in the MSC Harmony waiting for a decision in which the Police, the Government Delegation, a judge on duty, the company and also the Bolivian authorities are involved.

The Police and Bolivia target MSC

The National Police Corps is studying the possible responsibilities of the MSC company which, according to these sources, knew that those 69 passengers lacked the necessary documentation to enter the Schengen area. The intention of the authorities is for the company to take charge of the return of these people to their country of origin, indicate police sources, who show their concern about the possibility of opening a new route for the arrival of immigrants in an irregular situation to Spain, this time through cruises.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia has asked the company to provide “an immediate solution” to the passengers because “their obligation was to corroborate the entry or exit documents to any destination.” Bolivia admits that these 69 citizens “do not have entry documents to the Schengen area.” The truth is that they were able to disembark without problems in Tenerife (and briefly visit the island) and that the problems came on the Peninsula, first in Malaga – where, according to police sources, the authorities had already been alerted of the alleged falsification of the visas. — and now in Barcelona, ​​last visit in Spanish territory, where the ship was detained directly.

The MSC company has assured, in a note, that it is working with the Spanish authorities “to manage a situation with a number of passengers from Bolivia, which includes families and children, who are traveling with invalid documentation.” The company defends that, at the time of shipment in Brazil, “it seemed that they had appropriate documentation.” Once alerted of the irregularity, the affected people were unable to get off in Barcelona, ​​which “was their final destination.” They conclude that they continue working on the process and that they are “regularly informing passengers on board.”

Travelers consulted by this newspaper accuse the company of opacity. “Why doesn't the shipping company take action on the matter?” complains Leonor García, 66 years old. “We are locked in,” she adds, before calling MSC “arrogant.” “That they give us a solution, at least a free cruise,” she asks. For Antonio Piñeiro, 74 years old, the problem is the Police: “We are being victims of a number of acts by the Spanish authorities. We are hostages to one of his bravado.”

“I don't understand how they could have entered the ship without documentation,” protests Ana Carmona, 48, from Valencia, who had just joined the trip and has only visited Barcelona. “We are losing time that is ours and that we have paid for.” He MSC Harmony He left Santos (Brazil) on March 17 on a pleasure trip to Europe. She arrived in Barcelona at 7:00 on Tuesday and the Police, upon verifying the irregularity in the documentation of the 69 Bolivian citizens, prevented the disembarkation.

The authorities did not, however, initiate a denial of entry procedure at that time. This deportation process is the one followed, for example, with irregular entries through airports: suspected passengers are transferred to an admissions area and, while their situation is managed, the flight is allowed to depart with the rest of the travelers. In the port of Barcelona, ​​however, there is no such area, which is why they had to remain on the ship.

Relatives report a scam

While the parties involved seek a solution, unrest grows among the families of the 69 Bolivians. On Tuesday they were allowed access to the foot of the ship, from where they heard their relatives shouting for them. This Wednesday they claimed that they have been victims of a scam: they maintain that a travel agency, of which they have not been able to give the name, offered their relatives a “complete package” that included the cruise and the issuance of a visa.

In it MSC Harmony Luis Zelaya's nephew is traveling, waiting for news under the sun of the terminal. “He embarked in Rio de Janeiro. When they were six hours away from arriving in Malaga they were told that their visas were not legal. They didn't know it. They bought an offer on the internet. “They have been victims of deception,” he denounces. Although at first they say that their relatives were coming “to visit”, the majority end up admitting that, in reality, their objective was to settle in Spain to work and improve their living conditions.

According to the families' version, the Bolivian travelers paid a large sum (up to $1,000 just for the supposed visa). “They offered him the cruise at a relatively low price. The company should have realized in Brazil that the visas were false and they should not have let them board,” laments Neisa Ledesma, who has her sister, a university student, on the boat.

The 69 Bolivians, various sources confirm, are isolated from the rest of the passengers in an area of ​​the ship. Although their needs are covered, through calls and messages they express their anguish about what will happen to them: whether they will be returned (by boat or plane) to their country or transferred to the Foreigners Internment Center (CIE) to begin a detention procedure. expulsion. The relatives prefer this last option, which
would allow them to apply for asylum and would at least give them hope of staying in Spain. “And if they have to deport them, let them deport them, but let them no longer be locked up there. There are small children…”, laments Ledesma.

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