Libyan airline executive arrested as part of migrant smuggling investigation

A senior executive of Ghadames Air, a Libyan private airline, has been arrested for allegedly facilitating the illegal transport of migrants aiming to enter the United States via Nicaragua, Libya’s attorney general said, according to AFP. The airline is accused of flying hundreds of migrants from East Asia to Nicaragua, in violation of international migration laws and treaties.

Authorities detained the commercial director, citing actions detrimental to national interests. An investigation by Le Monde revealed that Ghadames Air conducted numerous charter flights from Benghazi and Tripoli to the Nicaraguan capital Managua. Like most Libyan airlines it is banned from European Union airspace.

Libya remains fragmented and unstable since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and is a major transit point for migrants heading to Europe. The International Organization for Migration estimates over 700,000 migrants are in Libya- mostly from Egypt and Nigeria, while the Tripoli-based interior minister claims the number is closer to 2.5 million, with most entering illegally.