Libyan airline allegedly facilitated migrant smuggling to the US via Nicaragua

The office of Libya’s attorney general has ordered “the imprisonment of the commercial director of Ghadames Airlines for committing harmful activity pertaining to the country’s interests”.

According to a statement published by the office, the private airline is accused of flying hundreds of people into the USA through the territory of the Republic of Nicaragua, in violation of applicable immigration rules. The office added that the air carrier had failed to take into account the obligations of the air carrier ignoring binding national migration legislation as well as international treaties ratified by the country.

The illegal movement of the hundreds of people was further described as a violation of the protocol to combat human migration by land, sea and air. The airline was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in the Libyan Capital Tripoli.

The allegations against Ghadames Airlines add a new perspective in illegal human migration. As most of the north african country’s airlines, Ghadames Airlines is also banned from entering European airspace due to security reasons.

The main reason for this is the fact that since the ouster of former Libyan dictator Muammer Gaddafi in 2011, political instability has increased in the region leading to rise of violence and a state of civil war. The country has been divided into two major political groups who engage in deadly attacks and dreaded use of weapons daily to take control and emerge as the supreme leader in the heartland. 

The state of civil war has escalated issues like illegal migration as Libya has emerged as a place for departure for refugees all over North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. 

According to the latest IOM reports, there are more than 700,000 immigrants hoping to catch the right opportunity to travel to Europe. However this figure has been contested by the Libyan government as  they believe around 2.5 million people have entered  the country illegally to lodge asylums in Europe. 

According to Interior Minister of Libya, Imad Trabelsi, the country has become a place of settlement rather than a place of transit.