Disputes International:
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a
British colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement
while demanding participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain
disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests
Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of
Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and
surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of illegal
migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does not recognize Spanish
sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of
interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
Illicit Drugs:
despite rigorous law enforcement efforts, North African, Latin American,
Galician, and other European traffickers take advantage of Spain's long
coastline to land large shipments of cocaine and hashish for distribution to the
European market; consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish;
destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin;
money-laundering site for Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and
organized crime
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook January 2008.
|
