The Smuggling of Migrants from Libyan Shores to Italy: Changes After the End of the Gaddafi Dictatorship1

Abstract

The article analyses the organisation of migrant smuggling from Sub-Saharan African countries to Italy, with a particular focus on Libya. It also examines how this activity changed after the end of the Gaddafi dictatorship. The main conclusion is that smuggling through the Libyan territory underwent different phases. During the dictatorship, smugglers were subject to strict control by the regime, which drew political advantages from them; the aftermath of the revolution gave rise to a new phase that paved the way for a multitude of players to enter the immigration business. The third phase, from 2013-14 onwards, has a new vertically structured organization that benefits smugglers with several resources: connections with recruiters located in the migrants’ countries of departure, financial resources, personnel hired to run the system of irregular migration and protection of the militias.