Human smugglers or smuggled persons? An approach to the situation of youths accused of human smuggling in southern Spain

The lack of safe entryways into Europe generates alternative maritime routes from Africa to the European continent. In recent years, there has been an increase in these arrivals and in the detention of individuals accused of migrant smuggling on the Central Mediterranean route to Italy and the North-west African (Atlantic) route to the Canary Islands upon their arrival by sea. Both the UNODC and various NGOs have suggested in recent reports that the punitive response to boat captains may have less to do with tackling the crime of human smuggling than it may initially appear. During fieldwork conducted as part of the JEPRAN project, a surprising number of youths accused of human smuggling were identified in a prison in Almería, Spain, having arrived via the Western Mediterranean route. This serendipitous finding allows for reflection within this article on the crime of human smuggling across different routes into Europe based on interviews with youths accused of this crime and imprisoned in the south of Spain.