Felipe VI expected in Ceuta and Melilla: a royal visit that risks rekindling tensions with Rabat Copy link

Algeria Gate: Algeria holds substantial assets that could significantly enhance its standing on the international stage, said the German economist, Werner Rügemer, writing for Algeria Gate.

Its abundant energy and mineral resources, coupled with a pivotal geographic position straddling Africa and the Mediterranean, offer powerful levers of influence.

The real challenge, Rügemer argues, is no longer simply to export oil and gas. It is to convert these natural riches into industrial capacity, technological advancement and lasting diplomatic weight.

In a global landscape shaped by the rise of the Global South and the shifting of traditional alliances, Algiers enjoys considerable room for manoeuvre. By diversifying its partnerships, especially with emerging powers, Algeria could further consolidate its economic independence.

The path ahead is clear: Algeria must evolve from a resource-rich nation into a genuine power capable of turning its natural wealth into strategic influence and sovereign strength.

Algeria Gate: In a new episode of the saga of the swindler and one of the most wanted men by Algerian justice, Ayoub Aissiou has turned his prison cell into a room for dirty deals and launched from there a media lobbying campaign with a budget estimated at 5 million euros. The goal is to buy the positions of French newspapers, writers and politicians, and to use every possible form of pressure on the Spanish judiciary in an attempt to escape his inevitable fate.

According to media sources, Ayoub Aissiou is using the money of Algerians that was smuggled out of the country to buy media consciences and pay hired pens in Paris, such as Le JDD and Le Point, which belong to the empire of Vincent Bolloré, the far-right figure steeped in narratives hostile to Algeria.

Analysts, opinion writers, journalists and public figures are all being courted by the fugitive from Algerian justice through attractive bribes in exchange for supportive articles and positions that are presented to public opinion as independent views.

As soon as he was arrested, networks of influence in France launched a campaign to polish the image of a fake businessman and present him as a political opponent, through French lobbies working to pressure Madrid and obstruct his extradition to Algeria. The aim is to salvage his reputation and portray him as a political victim by deploying lobbying tools and allocating a huge budget estimated at 5 million euros for communications agencies, consultants, disguised advertisements, statements and petitions signed by personalities and intellectuals.

Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls entered the fray to call for his defense, raising many questions about the motives behind this stance and whether financial interests lie behind it, especially given talk of Valls’ financial difficulties and debts. When recalling the financial situation Valls declared while he was Prime Minister, an article published by Le Figaro in June 2014 indicated that his net wealth did not exceed 93,150 euros after deducting his debts, while his loans amounted to around 200,500 euros and his liquidity was very limited.

The Algerian News Agency had previously revealed that the French propaganda machine is preparing to launch a new media campaign against Algeria through the channels TF1 and France Télévisions, mobilizing their media resources to promote the case of Ayoub Aissiou, who is wanted by Algerian justice and has been detained in Barcelona since July 25th on the basis of an international arrest warrant. Aissiou is being prosecuted before the Algerian courts on charges related to financial and commercial offences, including violation of legislation on the movement of capital to and from abroad, illicit transfer of currency, money laundering and concealment of proceeds linked to corruption, among other charges.

It is worth recalling that sources from Algeria Gate confirmed in previous articles that the Zionist-Moroccan lobby is working to present Ayoub Aissiou as a businessman, whereas he is in reality a professional smuggler and money launderer who usurped the title of businessman. The Spanish judicial authorities can verify that all the investment projects for which he obtained bank loans were never completed, while the funds have vanished to this day; whether the project to rehabilitate the iron factory in M’Sila, the milk production and cattle import project in Djelfa, or the stone-fruit trees project in the same province. The only projects that were partially completed were real-estate promotion apartments that were distributed to a number of officials and their children who later ended up in prison.

Algeria Gate: Spain and Portugal, in a joint security operation, seized 10.6 tons of hashish and dismantled an organization trafficking it via the Guadiana River on the Iberian Peninsula, at the same time as the Brussels public prosecutor, Julien Moinil, revealed that leaders of drug criminal networks are based in Morocco, according to the Belgian media site “21News.”

The Spanish Civil Guard and the Portuguese Republican National Guard announced in a joint statement, reported by Spanish media on Saturday, the dismantling of the organization as part of Operation Trident, with the seizure of 265 packages of hashish weighing a total of 10.6 tons, along with the arrest of 10 people and the seizure of 9 vehicles and 3 firearms.

According to the Spanish news agency “EFE,” the operation began in the city of Ayamonte in Huelva province, where the forces found inside a property 132 packages of hashish weighing 5.28 tons.

The security forces also seized 6 vehicles at the location, including 5 that were stolen and modified to hide the drugs, in addition to a pistol and an assault rifle, both of which were loaded and ready for use.

Three people were also arrested at the property and referred to the judiciary on charges of drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, vehicle theft, and forgery, before being placed in pre-trial detention, according to the “EFE” agency.

The operation extended to the Portuguese side of the Guadiana River, where the forces seized an additional 133 packages weighing 5.32 tons, along with 3 vehicles and a pistol.

Members of the organization tried to flee by boat, but Spanish and Portuguese forces intercepted it after the intervention of aerial, maritime, and land means, and arrested 7 people. The detainees were referred to the Portuguese judiciary, which decided to place them in pre-trial detention.

In Brussels, prosecutor Moinil explained that some of those in charge of the drug networks continue to manage the criminal networks from Morocco while others continue their activity from inside prisons, calling for enhanced cooperation with the countries where these criminals are located.

These operations reveal the scale of the hashish economy that continues to penetrate Europe, while European agencies pursue its networks and seize tons of its shipments, while Morocco remains a hub for criminal leaders operating across borders, amid official Moroccan leniency complicit with these networks.