Photo of Vox representatives in the Son Banya shanty town in Palma, Mallorca

Photo taken in Son Banya last May; Jero Mayans is on the right.

Andrew EdePalma20/03/2024 08:16
TW
0

Operation Checkmate, the major drugs operation which resulted in 23 arrests last week, immediately became a matter for Palma town hall. This was because Neus Truyol of opposition party Més raised links between Vox and the Balearic Federation of Gypsy Associations, the president of which is Carlos Cortes, 'El Charly', one of the 23 people arrested and now remanded in custody.

Truyol pointed specifically to the relationship between El Charly, the federation and a Vox councillor, Jero Mayans. She stated: "Jero Mayans has in recent years been the right hand of the federation."

The Guardia Civil's Judicial Police, in charge of investigations arising from Operation Checkmate, are aware of this association; Mayans is said to take care of the federation's administration.

Related news
Arrests were made in a major drugs operation in Mallorca

Operation Checkmate - One of the largest ever operations against drugs in Mallorca

More related news

The federation is a focus for police attention, and investigators are looking into meetings that Vox representatives had in the Son Banya shanty town and any possible connection to El Charly.

Among these meetings were ones in May last year shortly before the municipal election. Jero Mayans has explained that these were publicised. Commenting on one particular photo in which she appears, she has said that she can't see what's so special about it. "Practically our entire candidacy went."

Joan Fageda, a former mayor Partido Popular mayor of Palma whose name has been mentioned in recent days in connection with El Charly, has said that all political parties meet the gypsy community at election time.

At the 2023 election, votes for Vox in Son Banya increased from 52 in 2019 to 154. In La Soledad, where raids were carried out last week, the increase was from 36 to 92. In both instances, Vox polled the highest of all the parties. The PP went up from 54 to 112 in Son Banya and from 50 to 79 in La Soledad.

Poll

Do you think Operation Checkmate and similar operations will have a lasting impact on drug trafficking on the island?

216 votes

0%
0%
See more polls