Crossing Continents: Catalonia: Squatters, Eviction and Extortion

Spain has a history of squatting and after the property crash of 2008 many families were forced to occupy homes that did not belong to them because they could not pay their mortgages. Now a darker side to `okupacion" has emerged. Organised crime has seen an opportunity. Some flats in Barcelona have become 'narcopisos' - properties used to process or sell drugs. Other empty properties have been 'sub-let' by gangs to families who cannot afford a commercial rent. And the pandemic has spawned a new commercial model - extortion. These are cases where squatters occupy a property and demand a `ransom" from the owner of several thousand Euros before they will leave. Enter the controversial 'desokupa' companies - firms run by boxers and bouncers who will evict unwanted `tenants". Linda Pressly reports