Playa de Corralejo, near the prospecting site in the Fuerteventura biosphere reserve of the Canary Islands, with the silhouette of Lanzarote in the distance. Photo by the author. Italian activist Matilde Brunetti suffered serious injuries when she was cut by a propeller following an assault by several boats from the Spanish navy. Brunetti and a group of Greenpeace activists were in a small boat attempting to ward off the beginning of a controversial oil exploration initiative in an area about 60 km off the Canary islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, which has been officially recognized by UNESCO for its ecological value. Two other activists, Paco del Toro and Francesco Diplomatico, were also injured in the scuffle. The Spanish Government has authorized Spanish oil company Repsol to conduct explorations in three areas near the Canary Islands: Sandía, Chirimoya, and Zanahoria. The oil company's activities have met with opposition from environmentalists, citizens, and the regional government of the Canary Island, which sees them as a serious threat to tourism, the main source of income in the islands. In fact, the local government has waged a fierce legal battle to try and stop the prospecting. In addition to concerns about protecting the pristine landscapes, there is also the issue of access to fresh water. A significant percentage of the water consumed by island inhabitants is desalinated seawater, so any scenario involving a potential oil spill would have serious consequences. Although on its website Repsol affirms that “our environmental protection standards are among the highest in the industry: on par with Norway, which is the country with the most exacting requirements,” environmental groups are not so sure: Las prospecciones petrolíferas afectan a la fauna marina, como cetáceos y tortugas y a los recursos pesqueros. Pero también es un riesgo grave por la posibilidad de vertidos (…). Otro de las grandes claves de este caso es el Estudio de Impacto Ambiental, que ha estado lleno de irregularidades (…). Oil exploration affects marine wildlife such as whales and turtles and fish stocks. But it is also a serious risk for oil spills (…) Another key element in this case is the Environmental Impact Study, which was full of irregularities (…). The weak points in the environmental studies of this particular proposal have been reported to the European Commission's Directorate General for the Environment, which has initiated “a thorough investigation of the authorizations granted to Repsol by the government of Spain.” Oil exploration areas. Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, altered by the author. Against this backdrop, Repsol moved its ship Rowam Renaissance into the waters of the archipelago, where it is planning to begin exploration activities in the coming days. On Saturday, November 15, Greenpeace activists attempted to board the ship with the intention of deploying various protest banners, but they were surprised by a violent attack on the part of the Spanish navy, which sent out two boats to prevent them from boarding. The video shot by activists—which later went viral—clearly shows the navy's boats ramming the Greenpeace vessel on multiple occasions, which resulted in one of the activists falling into the water and getting her leg sliced open by a propeller. The video also shows how one of the sailors jumped into the water to rescue the activist, who was later evacuated to a hospital in a military helicopter. The Ministry of Defence took advantage of the incident and tweeted the following comment: La @Armada_esp y el @EjercitoAire rescatan a una activista de @greenpeace herida al caer al agua cerca de #Canarias pic.twitter.com/t0cixq27ze — Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) November 15, 2014 @Armada_esp [Spanish navy] and the @EjercitoAire [Air Force] rescue an activist from @greenpeace injured by falling into the water near #Canarias pic.twitter.com/t0cixq27ze The tweet caused indignation among netizens, and although #CanariasDiceNo[Canaries say no], Armada, and Greenpeace became trending topics in Spain, several dozen people denounced the navy officials as shameless, lying, cynical, manipulating, hypocritical, and even traitors and demagogues. @Defensagob @Armada_esp @EjercitoAire @Greenpeace Que manera más sutil de contar que casi la matais haciendo de matones para una empresa. — iugatore (@iugatore) November 17, 2014 @Defensagob @Armada_esp @EjercitoAire @Greenpeace What a subtle way of saying she was almost killed by your company goons @Defensagob @Armada_esp @EjercitoAire @Greenpeace Es mejor parecer tonto que hablar y confirmarlo.