Captain, crew member arrested in shipwreck tragedy

The Tunisian captain and a Syrian crew member of a smuggler’s boat that capsized off the coast of war-torn Libya on Saturday has been arrested. The two men were charged with illegal immigration and reckless multiple homicide in what may be the deadliest migrant tragedy in recent history. They were arrested aboard the rescue boat that brought twenty-eight survivors from the shipwreck, which may have claimed the lives of as many as 900 people, to Sicily, Italy. Twenty-four bodies were recovered. Italian Premier Matteo Renzi stated that (at a joint news conference with Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat) they are facing an organized criminal activity that is making serious money, but at the same time ruining many lives. He made comparisons of their activities to that of slave traders of centuries past. European Union foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, said this weekend’s tragic events had “finally” fully awakened the European Union to the evils of human trafficking. The EU has been criticized constantly for their lagging response to the crisis. Putting an end to human trafficking will be a key item on the agenda when EU leaders get together for an emergency summit Thursday in Brussels, along with a proposal to increase spending on sea patrols off of Europe’s southern border.