The drama of the 69 Bolivians detained on a cruise ship in Barcelona for having fake visas

What should have been an idyllic trip turned into a nightmare for 69 Bolivians. The group, which was traveling aboard the cruise ship Armonía, owned by the European company MSC, spent two days detained in Barcelona, ​​on board the ship, after the Spanish authorities detected that its members were traveling with false visas and, consequently, prevented their disembarkation in the Iberian country.

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The trip began in São Paulo (Brazil) in mid-March with around 1,500 passengers, and with a route that involved crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Spain and then continuing towards Italy, Greece and Croatia.

MSC Armonía travels a route that goes from Brazil to Croatia, passing through Spain, France, Italy and Greece.

Those affected, as explained by their family members, acquired “complete packages” which included both cruise tickets and the visa required since 2007 for Bolivians wishing to enter the Schengen area.

“They boarded the boat thinking that the visa was legal, but when they arrived in Malaga they discovered that they were victims of fraud by the travel agency.“Luis Mario Celaya, resident of Barcelona and uncle of one of the victims, explained to EFE.

In fact, the first warning the group received occurred during a stopover in Malaga; However, they decided to continue on to Barcelona, ​​where their journey ended.

In the Catalan city, on Tuesday, April 2, authorities prevented them from disembarking due to irregularities detected. This, however, also affected the rest of the passengers, whose route had to continue to Croatia.

The situation caused many family members of those affected to travel from different parts of Spain to Barcelona to provide support.

“I’m not eating, I’ve barely had a coffee; some of us stayed to sleep in cars“Juan Carlos Medrano, brother of one of the detained Bolivians who traveled from Navarre to the Catalan capital, told the EFE agency.

Relatives of the 69 Bolivians arrived at the port of Barcelona to find out about their families. (Quique Garcia/)

The incident quickly reached diplomatic levels in search of those responsible and, above all, a solution.

Spanish police launched an investigation into MSC Cruises to determine whether it was aware of the false documents. The company guaranteed that passengers “appeared to have the appropriate documentation when boarding in Brazil”.

Itamaraty announced that it “was made aware of the situation” and assured that its representatives in Spain “are taking appropriate measures to resolve this case” through “coordination with the Spanish authorities” and with MSC Cruzeiros.

Meanwhile, concern was growing among the victims and their families regarding the minors who had been traveling on board the cruise ship for three weeks. “We are desperate, yesterday the children appeared and cried,” said the family member of one of the detained Bolivians.

Only on Wednesday, the 3rd, both a delegation from the Catalan government and the Spanish police, Bolivian authorities and representatives of MSC Cruises reached an agreement on the case.

During the conversation, the representatives agreed that the MSC must provide adequate space for those affected to carry out emergency immigration procedures, supplies, food and health care if necessary. Therefore, the company mobilized a second ship that was in Livorno, Italy, to be used by the group for the duration of the negotiations.

The 69 Bolivians purchased a partial ticket, which took them from Brazil to Spain.

MSC Armonía, in turn, continued its journey this Thursday, the 4th, to the French port of Corsica with the rest of the passengers it had on board.

The Spanish authorities, in turn, guaranteed that they will listen to the 69 Bolivians “case by case” and, depending on each circumstance, their future will be decided based on legislation, with one of the most likely options being deportation.

If a person has to be repatriated, MSC Cruises will be responsible for carrying it out, sources close to EFE explained.

Source: Elcomercio