The Take: Why are police targeting gay men in Madrid?

Gay men in Madrid say the police are targeting them in the crackdown on drug use.

People carry a rainbow flag as they take part in the annual LGBTQ Pride Parade in Madrid, Spain, on July 6, 2024 [Ana Beltran/Reuters]

In Madrid, gay men say targeted police raids and humiliating strip searches are on the rise, defying Spain’s image as a leader in LGBTQ rights. Authorities claim it is part of a drug crackdown, but activists insist that deep-rooted homophobia is driving the arrests. What’s behind these allegations?

In this episode:

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé and Chloe K Li, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Hanah Shokeir and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera

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