The cooperation of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), the Spanish secret service, the Algerian security forces and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) have been decisive in solving the problem with unusual speed according to government sources. The former hostage, over whose identity there has been notable confusion, is Joaquín Navarro Cañada, a Spanish professor over 60 years old specialized in archeology who has taught in London (United Kingdom).
The Algerian Ministry of Defense released a statement this Tuesday night in which it reported that the Spanish citizen, whom it identified as Joaquín Navarro Canada (as there is no letter “ñ” in French) was “in good health.” ” and had been transported on a private plane from the Tin Zaoutine airport, on the border with Mali, to the Boufarik air base, about 35 kilometers from Algiers, where he had been received by the Army security services Algerian and would later be handed over to the Spanish authorities.
Joaquín Navarro was kidnapped on the 14th while he was sightseeing in southern Algeria by a group of five armed men. After freeing their companions, the captors crossed the border with Mali with the hostage. According to investigations, the kidnappers were part of a criminal gang that intended to sell him for a large sum of money to the Islamic State of the Great Sahara (EIGS), which operates in the area. The agents of the Spanish secret service, according to government sources, acted very quickly in those critical moments and obtained the collaboration of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), the Tuareg militia that fights for the separation of Northern Mali and seeks to improve its image. international.
whom he identified as Navarro Giane Gilbert, near the Malian town of Tinzaouaten, and attributed it to the actions of one of his security units, “in parallel with the negotiations carried out by people of good offices”, without in any way moment his life was in danger, he added. The group showed a photograph of the Spaniard sitting in a camping chair and surrounded by Tuareg fighters with weapons and an Alzawad flag on a vehicle.
The quick action of the intelligence services has prevented the Spanish professor from falling into the hands of the jihadist group, which would have complicated and probably prolonged the kidnapping for months. The Austrian citizen Eva Gretzmatcher, kidnapped on the 12th in the region of Agadez (Niger), close to the Algerian border, has not been so fortunate and is still being held.
The Algerian Ministry of Defense has presented the release of the Spaniard as a sign of the effectiveness and professionalism of its security services “in the fight against all forms of organized crime throughout the national territory”, while the president of the country, Addelmayid Tebune thanked them for “their effectiveness and confidentiality during the operation to free the Spanish citizen,” as indicated through his profile on the social network Facebook.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has remained completely silent on the operation, confirmed this Wednesday “that the Spaniard held against his will in North Africa has been released. The Spanish diplomatic and intelligence services have worked actively in coordination with those in the area to quickly and positively resolve the case,” the brief statement adds.
