The Diplomat
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, yesterday demanded that Spain hand over the concrete block that Vox MP Javier Ortega Smith took in 2014. According to the political leader, the block was trying to complicate the work of Spanish fishermen, reports Europa Press.
During his speech for Gibraltar’s National Day, Picardo has defended that the Rock is not going to give up its sovereignty and that they are not going to allow certain lines to be crossed. “When one of our sovereign assets has been stolen from our British waters, we will not rest until we recover it, no matter how long it takes,” he said.
In this sense, he announced that the Government of Gibraltar has presented a claim to Spain to recover the concrete block that Ortega Smith took and that is present at the entrance to the Vox headquarters. “We are going to recover our block,” demanded the Chief Minister.
The request was immediately answered by the Vox deputy in a message that he published on the social network X and that says: “Let’s see, pirate Fabian Picardo. If you dare, come and look for him and take him on your back. Spanish Gibraltar! Pirates out of the Rock!”.
For this theft, Gibraltar issued a search and arrest warrant against Ortega Smith, who was later sentenced by the courts to ten years in prison. The deputy assured that he would do it again, defending that Spanish fishermen “have the right to fish in the bay of Algeciras.”
