FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 93 - ENGLISH

9 How would you describe the evolu- tion of the jihadist threat in Spain in recent years? Its evolution has been in line with that seen in other countries in our region and, fundamentally, it has responded to the progressive consolidation of a mod- el of delegation, within which the main jihadist organisations have entrusted the initiative for actions in their name to their followers around the world. This would have led to a consolidation of the so-called 'individual actors' with- in this threat, who would be perma- nently mobilised through propaganda distributed online, including indoctri- nating and inciting content, as well as other educational material. Such actors, commonly misnamed 'lone wolves', would form, together with the aforementioned terrorist content, a model of constant feedback, since, as can be seen from the arrests made, they would also participate in its dis- semination through translation, editing or simply redistribution in messaging platform groups or social media chan- nels. “The fight against terrorism in the digital environment has become an essential part of national and European security” which would indicate the particular impact that the jihadist phenomenon would be having among the youngest and most vulnerable population groups. Additionally, one of the main prob- lems associated with the current threat under this model would be that of so- called "express radicalisation", which would entail a greater potential risk of mobilisation towards violence in a very short period of time for these individ- uals, thus making it difficult to detect, monitor and prevent their activities be- fore they can be detected. It is also worth noting the significant impact that the attacks perpetrated in Israel by the terrorist organisation HA- MAS on 7 October 2023, as well as the subsequent armed conflict, have had on the jihadist scene and the threat to the West as a whole over the last two years. The mobilisation impact generated as a result has served as a catalyst for countless radicalisation processes, and has also been exploited to fuel recurring jihadist narratives that have proven highly effective in frequently appealing to the emotions of their supporters. Spain appears in European statis- tics as the European Union country with the highest number of arrests of suspected jihadists. Why is this? Is it due to a greater threat or improved detection capabilities? Having explained the nature of the threat we face and how, given its char- acteristics, the fight against it involves not only the security forces but also civ- il society as a whole (with technology companies playing a prominent role, for O ne year after taking over as head of CITCO, General Francisco Javier Marín looks back on his career and shares his vision of the se- curity challenges facing Spain. With a solid academic background and a career marked by strategic postings in the Civil Guard and the Ministry of the Interior, Marín highlights the need for anticipa- tion, coordination and adaptation in the face of threats. FRANCISCO JAVIER MARÍN: As jihadism is a global threat, this model would also take advantage of its characteristics for the purposes of re- cruitment, indoctrination, training and terrorist incitement characteristics of digitised societies and the extensive use that their members would make of vir- tual channels to an increasing degree, INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CITCO NEWS