The geopolitical balance of the Central Atlantic is shifting, and according to Antonio Morales, president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands are heading towards a strategic trap. In a harsh criticism of the recent diplomatic missions of the regional government in Rabat, Morales has sounded the alarm about Morocco’s ‘state port model’: a centralized and aggressive expansion strategy designed to neutralize the historical hegemony of the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas. This is underscored by the pending state authorization for the sale of 45% of Boluda TM’s terminals to a Moroccan state company.
While the President of the Canaries, Fernando Clavijo, was recently returning from Agadir defending the ‘complementarity’ between Canary and Moroccan ports, Morales, in an opinion article in the Las Palmas media and pre-published by Canarias 7, labels that rhetoric as dangerously naïve. The Gran Canaria leader points out the ‘phagocytosis’ of Algeciras by Tangier Med as a historical warning: a process where initial cooperation served only as a prelude to total market absorption by the Alaouite kingdom.
The Tangier Med model: Geopolitics over market
The strategy of Morocco is not the result of market whims, but a deliberate architecture of state power. Tangier Med has already rewritten the logistics of the Mediterranean, using lower labor costs, lax regulatory frameworks, and massive state subsidies to snatch giants like Maersk from Spanish ports.
Morales warns that this same scheme is being applied to the Atlantic. The emergence of the Atlantic Port of Dakhla —built in disputed territory of Western Sahara and in violation of international law— directly targets the jugular of Las Palmas. Dakhla aims to capture the transit traffic from West Africa and the Sahel that, historically, have found their natural hub for scale and services in Gran Canaria.
Island asymmetry: Las Palmas vs. Santa Cruz
The impact of the Moroccan port rise is felt unevenly across the archipelago. Morales is clear: the threat to Las Palmas is structural; for the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it is practically nonexistent. Las Palmas, in his view, is a global hub for bunkering, ship repairs, and offshore services, competing in the same high-risk international league as Morocco’s megaports. Santa Cruz de Tenerife focuses on regional cabotage, cruises, and local consumer goods. This ‘lesser international ambition’ acts as a protective shield, leaving Tenerife relatively isolated from Rabat’s maritime ambitions.
Morales suggests that this disparity explains the ‘strategic apathy’ of certain regional political sectors. For Gran Canaria, Moroccan competition is a real risk to its economic heart; for Tenerife, it is merely a distant geopolitical noise. One of the most critical points in Morales’ analysis is the role of the European Union . While Las Palmas is suffocated by increasingly stringent environmental regulations —such as the ETS system (emission trading) or FuelEU directives— Moroccan ports operate outside of these costly obligations.
‘We are competing in the same global market with different rules,’ argues Morales. The president of the Cabildo draws a grim parallel to the Canary tomato industry, decimated by Moroccan imports despite supposed EU protective measures. The fear is that the Port of Las Palmas will be the next ‘strategic asset’ sacrificed on the altar of diplomatic stability between Brussels and Morocco.
Strategic disarmament
The Cabildo’s warning is clear: Morocco views its ports as instruments of foreign policy, not just economic infrastructures. If Spain and the EU continue to treat Las Palmas as merely a regional asset rather than a geopolitical stronghold, the island risks a ‘progressive loss of centrality’. While cranes advance in Villa Cisneros and Agadir, Morales’ message to Madrid and Brussels is unequivocal: cooperation with the neighbor is a virtue, but handing over the keys to the most vital maritime crossroads of the Atlantic is a historical mistake with incalculable consequences.
News written by Gara Vega. Edited and verified by Pedro Marrero. Information cross-checked without institutional filters. This analysis has not been funded by official advertising nor conditioned by lobby interests.
