The Weaponization of Suffering
Let's follow the trail: FIRST INSTANCE: The Precedent of Deterrence (1990s) The strategy of making borders permeable only through dangerous means, thereby increasing the risk of death, gained traction in the early 1990s. The US initiated 'prevention through deterrence' along its southern border. By funneling migrants into hazardous terrain (mountains, deserts), the explicit aim was to increase
crossings' difficulty and lethality. This policy was formalized in 1994 by the US Border Patrol with the implementation of Operation Gatekeeper. The logic was that heightened risk would deter attempts. REPETITIONS: EU’s Externalization Playbook (2000s-2010s) The European Union adopted a similar playbook, externalizing its borders by funding and training non-EU states, particularly Libya, to
intercept migrants before they reached European shores. In 2017, Italy formalized a controversial agreement with Libya's UN-backed government, providing funding and equipment to the Libyan Coast Guard. This move, heavily criticized by human rights groups (Amnesty International, 2017), effectively deputized a militia-riddled, often abusive entity to prevent departures, knowing full well that those
intercepted would be returned to inhumane detention centers in Libya. The number of recorded deaths in the Mediterranean spiked following these agreements, not due to an increase in attempts necessarily, but due to a reduction in coordinated rescue efforts by European states and increased interdiction by less-equipped, less-accountable Libyan forces. Data from the IOM (International Organization