On Wednesday, the National and Palma Police mounted an operation at the old prison in Palma, which has been occupied by homeless people for several years.
The operation was in response to numerous complaints about the increase in fires and robberies that have occurred in the area in recent months. At 8am, officers raided the old prison and required all those living there to come out one by one so they could be identified.
A total of 165 people of various nationalities were identified. One arrest was made, that of a man wanted for theft. The Cruz Roja (Red Cross) arrived and offered the squatters blankets, coffee, water, juice and croissants.
Aurora Ballester, who has lived with her husband at the prison for nearly four years, said: "They've been saying they're going to empty it for four years, but you can't just put 500 people on the street. Where are they going to go? At least they're being controlled here." (Estimates of the numbers of people at the prison have greatly fluctuated over the years.)
Daeh is a young Algerian who arrived in Mallorca on a small boat with 22 other people on board. He moved into the old prison two months ago after being released from the Es Pinaret juvenile detention centre, where he had been held for committing a series of robberies. "The street is dangerous. I was living a shitty life, stealing, doing drugs ... ."
He was asleep when the police arrived. "There are no problems here, nothing, everything is quiet. I wish I had a job." He thought he would find work in Mallorca. "There’s nothing in Algeria."