40 medals including 13 gold: Algeria finishes the Taranto Games in 9th place Copy link

Algeria Gate: Algeria is preparing to send a powerful message to major drug traffickers: there will be no safe haven for those who target the country’s youth and threaten national security.

President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered the establishment of a specialized open prison in the Tanezrouft region, deep in southern Algeria, for major drug traffickers and those involved in the promotion and distribution of narcotics.

Located in the vast desert of Adrar, between Reggane and Bordj Badji Mokhtar and extending toward Timiaouine, Tanezrouft is unlike any conventional prison environment. Known as the “Desert of Thirst,” the region is among the most remote and inhospitable areas of the Sahara.

With almost no permanent settlements, extremely limited water resources and vast stretches of barren land, Tanezrouft presents an environment where nature itself becomes an additional barrier to escape.

A prison unlike any other

The choice of Tanezrouft is highly symbolic.

Far from Algeria’s major cities and surrounded by an immense and largely uninhabited desert, the region offers none of the comforts that drug traffickers may have enjoyed through the wealth generated by their illegal activities.

Temperatures in the area can climb above 45°C during the summer and approach 50°C, while rainfall is extremely scarce. The combination of extreme heat, arid conditions and isolation makes the region one of the harshest environments in the country.

For inmates sent there, the desert will represent a radically different reality from the world of luxury, money and influence often associated with major drug networks.

The message from the authorities is clear: those who make their fortunes by poisoning Algerian society will pay a heavy price.

Part of a tougher war on drugs

The measure comes amid Algeria’s continued efforts to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and organized criminal networks.

Authorities have repeatedly warned about the growing threat posed by narcotics, particularly synthetic drugs, and their impact on Algerian society and young people.

The Algerian state has also moved toward tougher penalties for the most serious drug-related crimes, particularly cases involving organized criminal networks and activities considered a threat to national security.

Against this backdrop, the planned Tanezrouft facility is being presented as another instrument in the country’s campaign against major traffickers and drug promoters.

Rather than simply serving as a place of detention, the remote location is intended to create a powerful deterrent for those involved in the drug trade.

Strong public reaction

The announcement has also generated considerable reaction among Algerians, with many citizens expressing support for tougher measures against major drug traffickers.

On social media, discussions have focused particularly on the location of the proposed facility and the harsh conditions of the Tanezrouft region.

For many Algerians, the measure reflects growing frustration with drug networks and their impact on families and young people.

Supporters of the initiative argue that those who deliberately profit from the destruction of others should face severe consequences, while the state has made the protection of young Algerians a central argument in its campaign against narcotics.

Tanezrouft sends a message

The significance of Tanezrouft goes beyond its geography.

By choosing one of the most isolated and inhospitable regions of the Sahara, Algeria is sending a message to major drug traffickers and organized criminal networks that the state intends to pursue them with greater determination.

For those accustomed to operating behind powerful networks and vast financial resources, the prospect of being sent thousands of kilometers into the desert represents a dramatic change of circumstances.

In Tanezrouft, money and influence offer little protection.

The desert is vast, unforgiving and isolated. And for Algeria’s biggest drug traffickers, it could become the ultimate symbol of the consequences awaiting those who profit from the spread of narcotics.

Algeria’s message is unmistakable: the fight against drugs is entering a tougher phase, and those who threaten the country’s youth will face the full force of the state.

Algeria Gate: Political analyst Hakim Boughrara told Algeria Gate that France’s persistent efforts to keep the Sahel mired in chaos, while amplifying its own propaganda on counter-terrorism, reveal the true purpose of its military presence in the region: securing strategic positions across Sahelian states and protecting its economic interests.

These interests centre on “plundering uranium, gold and various rare minerals,” Boughrara explained.

He argued that the political awakening of Sahelian countries, the expulsion of French forces, and the massive popular demonstrations in Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad have significantly eroded French influence.

France consistently holds Algeria responsible for this decline, accusing Algiers of promoting the completion of African independence and the expulsion of colonial powers; a stance that, in Boughrara’s view, would enable Africans to reclaim and benefit from their own resources and wealth.

The analyst highlighted Algeria’s renewed engagement in the Sahel and the solid partnerships it has forged with Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. France refuses to allow the region to break free from the stereotypical image it has long cultivated: a permanent zone of chaos dominated solely by terrorist groups, he added.

This narrative, according to Boughrara, serves one purpose: to “maintain ambiguity” so that France can continue acting as it pleases in the region.

Turning to the United Arab Emirates, Boughrara described it as a small state that has deeply penetrated North Africa and the Sahel. He accused Abu Dhabi of paying ransoms to terrorist groups and of systematically seeking to disrupt Algeria’s achievements and economic gains.

Algeria’s strong return to its Mediterranean and African neighbourhood, and especially to the Sahel, has alarmed what Boughrara termed the “axis of evil” linking “the Makhzen, the UAE and the Zionist entity.” This shared anxiety, he argued, has pushed these actors into a form of coordination aimed at “breaking Algeria’s efforts and its strategic positioning.”

What unfolded in Niger, he stressed, constitutes the “strongest evidence” of this campaign. The accusations levelled by the Nigerien authorities, he noted, rest on “a great deal of evidence.”

Boughrara concluded that this axis has no interest in seeing either the Sahel or Algeria grow stronger. Still less does it want the countries of the region to become robust and mutually integrated; a development that would expose those powers determined to keep the Sahel in a state of security, economic and social fragility, the better to plunder its wealth while paying nothing in return.

Algeria Gate: President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of National Defense, chaired a meeting of the High Security Council on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Presidency of the Republic.

The meeting was devoted to three main points: the fires recorded in the eastern and central regions of the country, the fight against drugs, and the general situation in Algeria and neighbouring countries.

Regarding the fires, a detailed presentation was given on the progress of the rigorous security and scientific investigations being conducted by the National Gendarmerie and the National Security services. The findings of these investigations will be announced during a forthcoming joint meeting. The High Security Council stressed the imperative of activating the application of the death penalty for all crimes of this nature.

On the fight against drugs, the Council decided to establish a specialised security body dedicated to combating drug trafficking, modelled on structures existing in several countries, including the United States of America.

The High Security Council also paid tribute to the efforts of the People’s National Army (PNA) and the security services.

In this regard, it was decided to convert a PNA barracks located in the Great Sahara at Tanezrouft into a high-security prison reserved for drug barons and traffickers.

The Council further examined the overall situation in the country and in neighbouring states.

The statement was issued by the Presidency of the Republic.