European, especially British, newspaper readers were presumably surprised to have read that the Obama family were going to Marbella, Spain for the President’s birthday. Despite posters welcoming the first family and the beautification of the area around where they are staying, it seems an odd choice for a destination vacation.
France 24 reports Spain is rightly enthused about the visit, claiming its worth hundreds of millions of Euros worth of advertising.
“Public Works Minister Jose Blanco said “the fact that the Obama family has chosen Spain for their holiday is a reason to feel proud, it is positive for Spain, and it also reflects that Spain plays a role in the world that is recognized.”
Known as the “Costa del Crime” in the tabloid press Marbella has been the scene of an on-going violent turf war between Spanish, Irish, British and Russian drug gangs because of its location near the coast of Morocco, only 40 miles away. The BBC reports about the turmoil going on in the city.
“The Costa del Sol has seen an upsurge in violent crime in recent years with British, Irish and Russian gangs vying with local Spanish criminals for command of the lucrative drugs trade… There have been reports of drugs being smuggled into Puerto Banus on luxury yachts, which are less likely to be searched than dilapidated fishing boats.”
There are so many British fugitives from justice from the area that it has caused problems between the British and Spanish government. There has recently been movement on extradition treaties to rectify the problem. The Spanish government has been cracking down, reports Speroform.
“It has also been an open secret that in the regional capital of Marbella much of that money comes from the seedy-side of life, linked to speculating in real estate, or dirtier crimes, such as extortion, contract murders, car-thefts, arms and drugs trafficking and prostitution. It is suspected that much of those ill-gotten gains were sent to offshore accounts”
Even Piers Morgan, former editor of the UK tabloids the Daily Mirror and the News of the World, had this to say in his article in the Daily Mail to accompany his ITV special on the area.
“’And it’s getting more and more dangerous. There was a shooting in a local hairdresser’s recently where they sprayed the place with bullets. A married couple were machine-gunned to death last year, and three more people shot dead outside a restaurant. You can be sipping your pina colada on the beach while gangsters are blowing each other’s brains out a few hundred yards behind you.’
In the US Fox News has reported State Department warnings about Spain regarding racial prejudice in the country. The warnings that formerely appeared on the State Department are no longer listed.
One can imagine the headaches the choice of city has caused the Obama protection team. They will no doubt be relieved when the Obamas are safely back on AirForce One heading to the US.
