After more than a week of uncertainty, the situation of the 69 Bolivian passengers who were waiting at the Port of Barcelona has finally been resolved. The passengers arrived in Spain with irregular documentation to enter Schengen territory, the space free of internal border controls that allows travel by 27 countries. 65 of the passengers have been escorted by the National Police and taken in buses to the Barcelona airport, where they have boarded a plane back to Bolivia.
However, the remaining four passengers, who are members of the same family, have been allowed to stay in Spain due to exceptional roots. Their father has Spanish nationality and resides in Gerona, about 100 kilometers away from Barcelona. They are three brothers, two minors, and an adult accompanied by her daughter. The father expressed that he is happy with the outcome of the situation and confirmed that everyone is now at their home in Gerona.
CNN is currently trying to communicate with the Bolivian consular authorities in Barcelona to find out details about the investigation that is being followed due to the group’s arrival in European territory.
The 69 passengers were stranded in the port of Barcelona since April 2. The first 48 hours were spent aboard a cruise ship that was not allowed to disembark in any other port due to issues with their visas. After negotiations between Spanish authorities and the ship’s operator, MSC Cruises, the passengers were allowed to disembark in a transit area of the port. They were then transferred to a second ship sent from Livorno, Italy, while waiting for immigration procedures to be resolved.