Canarian President Accuses Madrid of Trying to Ridicule Him. The Canary Islands authorities are considering legal action against Madrid's decision to allow the MV Hondius to dock. The regional president claimed there were attempts to discredit him amid a dispute over health risks.
The conflict between the government of the Canary Islands and Spain’s central authorities over the MV Hondius ship escalated after Madrid authorized its entry into port despite the region's opposition. The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, stated that the central government deliberately tried to make him look ridiculous and reduce the situation to a joke, despite real concerns about sanitary risks.
Madrid's decision and the Canary Islands' response
On Saturday night, just hours before the arrival of the MV Hondius, Clavijo sent Health Minister Mónica García an excerpt from artificial intelligence noting that 'rats are excellent swimmers.' He said this was intended to highlight the risk of rodents potentially carrying hantavirus reaching the island. However, ministry experts replied that it was not rats but Patagonian long-tailed mice, which cannot swim. Despite this, Clavijo refused to allow the vessel to dock, but at 1:12 a.m., the head of Marina Mercante signed an administrative order overturning the regional ban and permitting the ship to enter the port of Granadilla.
Evacuation operation and public reaction
By Monday morning, most of the passengers of the MV Hondius had already been evacuated, with only two flights remaining — to Australia and the Netherlands. Clavijo expressed dissatisfaction that his private correspondence with the minister had become public and sparked a wave of memes on social media. He emphasized that even in official documents, the Interior Ministry acknowledges the possibility of hantavirus transmission through rodent excretions, and the risk of it reaching the island was not completely ruled out.
Political consequences and the dispute over authority
The Canary Islands authorities intend to consider the possibility of filing a lawsuit regarding the decision of Marina Mercante at their next meeting, believing that regional powers were violated. Clavijo also noted that he does not understand why PCR tests were not carried out for all passengers and insisted on the need for testing for the safety of residents. At the same time, he stressed that relations with the central government would not be severed despite the tensions, and the issue of supporting the coalition in Congress would be decided later.
Madrid's position and ministers' comments
Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, expressed regret over the institutional conflict on RNE and urged politicians to rely solely on scientific data to avoid causing unnecessary alarm. Minister of Health Mónica García also declined to engage in public debate, noting that any disputes and misinformation are harmful to healthcare, and that regional authorities were invited to take part in the operation but did not attend.
Previously, the situation around the MV Hondius had already caused tension between the Canary Islands and Madrid: regional authorities blocked disembarkation of the ship's passengers due to disagreements over safety measures.
