Jacobin | L Gene/AFP/Getty
2024 is over, but not before hitting a historic high for the number of people dying at Spain’s borders. According to data from the NGO Caminando Fronteras, at least 10,457 people died or disappeared trying to reach Spanish territory by irregular maritime routes over the last twelve months — a 58 percent increase from 2023. The vast majority of these victims (9,757) were trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, off the West African coast — as the European Union (EU)–sponsored crackdown in the central Mediterranean and the war in Mali forced tens of thousands of people to risk their lives on treacherous, long-distance routes on the Atlantic Ocean.