Canary Islands Buckle Under Shocking Crime Surge

Homicides are up by 400 percent, but the Spanish government turns a blind eye to the impact of mass illegal migration.

WORLD MAY 20. 2025 11:16

Homicides and rapes are increasing sharply in the Canary Islands, outpacing national trends and raising alarm among the population.

Violent crime is surging across the entire Canary Islands, with intentional homicides, attempted murders and sexual assaults all rising significantly in the first quarter of 2025, even despite a general decline in reported crime.

According to the latest crime statistics published by Spain’s interior ministry and cited by La Razon, the islands recorded a 3.8 percent decrease in total offenses compared to the same period last year — but this masks troubling increases in the most serious categories.

Homicides on the Spanish archipelago rose by a staggering 400 percent,

jumping from two registered cases in early 2024 to ten so far this year. Attempted homicides also nearly doubled, rising by 87.5 percent to 15 registered offenses. Sexual assaults involving penetration increased by 11.1 percent, reaching 60 cases in the first three months of 2025. Drug trafficking also showed a steep rise, up 21.4 percent with 210 cases reported.

Nationally, Spain experienced a 2.8 percent drop in overall crime in the first quarter of the year. Homicides declined by 11.6 percent, though attempted murders rose by nearly 20 percent, according to a piece published by the RMX News portal. However, the trend of increasing sexual violence is evident across Spain. The interior ministry suggested that increased public awareness and reduced social stigma around reporting may be contributing factors.

RMX News also points out that foreign nationals are disproportionately represented in serious crime data across Western Europe, a pattern evident in recent crime stats published in Catalonia. Although immigrants make up 17 percent of the population there, they account for 91 percent of rape convictions. More broadly, over half (50.48 percent) of the prison population in Catalonia comprises foreign nationals.

The Canary Islands Are Struggling to Breathe

The situation in the Canary Islands is alarming. A large number of migrants are arriving, which — although not publicised by the Spanish authorities — has clearly led to a surge in crime in certain, particularly violent, categories.

The Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet also highlighted that the illegal migration route to the islands is extremely dangerous and considered one of the deadliest in the world. Yet, traffic along this route continues to grow. In Spain, all previous records for illegal migration were broken n 2024: 46,843 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands alone, marking a 17 percent increase compared to the previous year and surpassing the figures recorded during the previous peak in the 2006 crisis. According to data released in early January,

nearly ten thousand people lost their lives attempting to cross the Atlantic in 2024. Migrants often endure a grueling journey lasting more than a week aboard boats provided by migrant smuggling-mafias, many of which are in extremely poor condition.

Most Spaniards Are Concerned

Given these facts, it comes as little surprise that concern over migration has grown among Spaniards. According to an autumn 2023 poll conducted by the 40dB Institute for El País and Cadena SER,

75 percent of Spaniards associate migration with negative concepts such as insecurity, crime, and overburdened public services.

The rise in public concern — a 16-point increase over eighteen months — is significant.

WORLD

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canary islands, crime, migration, spain