Spanish police deny Morocco's involvement in planning the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta
The Spanish National Police denied on Wednesday that any police report had concluded that Moroccan security forces had planned or carried out the wave of mass entry of migrants into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Spanish state television quoted Police Director General Francisco Pardo as saying, following a meeting with Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, that a report prepared by the National Center for Immigration and Borders, under the Spanish National Police, exonerated Morocco of involvement in planning or executing the crossing of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta last July.
This comes after Spanish media leaks on the night of Tuesday/Wednesday indicated that the report, prepared by the National Center for Immigration and Borders and whose details were not published, pointed fingers at elements within Moroccan security forces for organizing the illegal mass entry of tens of thousands of migrants into the Spanish city with the aim of “disrupting the Spanish border monitoring system and impairing its response capacity.”
The television station noted that the Spanish National Center for Immigration and Borders prepared the report at the request of a judge at the Spanish National Court, to determine whether the events warranted opening a criminal investigation and whether the migrants’ entry had been coordinated or directed by a specific entity. Judge María Tardón had ordered the investigation team at the Immigration and Borders Center not to inform their superiors of any information regarding the report or its contents. Consequently, the Police Director General and the Interior Minister were unaware of it prior to the media leaks.
This development occurs as Spanish authorities seek to clarify the circumstances surrounding the largest influx of migrants to Ceuta, after more than 70,000 people crossed the border from Morocco into the Spanish city over two days. This prompted the Spanish government to form a national ministerial committee to enhance the coordination of state resources to deal with the crisis’s repercussions.
The Spanish government has repeatedly affirmed Morocco’s close cooperation in resolving the crisis, noting that Moroccan authorities had already thwarted several attempts at mass crossings in the days preceding the crisis, and that the two countries had agreed to enhance coordination to address migration flows.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasized in a radio interview last Monday that his government possessed no intelligence indicating Moroccan authorities’ involvement in the mass entry wave, while stressing that cooperation with Rabat was essential to contain the crisis.
For his part, the Spanish Socialist leader accused networks linked to Russia, the Israeli occupation, and the far-right of spreading disinformation and exploiting the migration issue to increase polarization and extremism and destabilize Spain.
Sánchez stated that approximately 5,000 illegal migrants remained in Ceuta following the mass entry wave, noting that the vast majority had returned in cooperation with Moroccan authorities. He confirmed that Spanish authorities were working to provide the legal framework for the return of all migrants still in the city.
