Spain: The Flourishing Illegal Drug Haven in Europe

In his 2001 Address to the Nation, the President of Spain, José María Aznar, focused on the topic of justice and public safety. He recognised there had been an increase in the rates of crime (especially property crime) and stated that his government planned to tackle the problem by creating 20,000 police posts between 2002 and 2004. He also concentrated on immigration and crime by highlighting that any immigrant committing a crime who had an illegal immigration status would ‘reasonably be deported.1 Other topics included the terrorism of ETA, particular circumstances existing in the Basque country, the economy, the general strike happening across the country and the relationship with the United States. However, he did not touch on the subject of organised crime.