On Monday, Libyan authorities ordered the arrest of a Ghadames Air official on charges of facilitating the illegal transport of migrants to the United States via Nicaragua.
The Tripoli-based Attorney General’s office announced that the commercial director of Ghadames Air was under investigation for activities deemed harmful to national interests. The suspect’s name was not disclosed.
According to the statement, Ghadames Air had transported hundreds of individuals to Nicaragua, who then planned to illegally enter the United States.
Ghadames Air, a private airline established in 2021 and headquartered in Tripoli, could not be reached for comment.
The Attorney General’s office accused the airline of operating flights that carried hundreds of people from East Asian countries, without adhering to the air carrier’s obligations and national immigration laws. No further details were provided about the origin countries of the migrants.
Since the fall of long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya has been in chaos and has become a primary gateway for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
