World News
Spanish Police Report Says Morocco Directed Mass Migration Into Ceuta
A Spanish police intelligence report says Moroccan security forces helped direct the wave of migrants who crossed into Ceuta in late July. Its findings conflict with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s claim that the events were accompanied by a Russian-Israeli disinformation campaign.
Spanish police submitted an official report to the court yesterday (Tuesday), stating that Moroccan security forces were actively involved in the mass border-crossing events into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta at the end of July. According to the investigation’s findings, Moroccan security forces did not merely maintain a presence in the area; they directed the migrants and managed their movement toward predetermined entry points.
The report was prepared by the CENIF intelligence unit of the General Directorate of Immigration and Borders and is based, among other things, on video footage collected during the events. Some of the footage shows people in civilian clothes receiving instructions from Moroccan police and then guiding the migrants on the ground.
The report also indicates that as early as July 29, one day before the events began, the intelligence unit sent Spain’s Interior Ministry an initial warning about a "serious threat" and coordinated infiltration attempts at the border. According to investigators, the migrants’ conduct on the ground pointed to "a planned process intended to breach the border under the cover of a migration crisis."
The findings conflict with the position of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who said the day before yesterday that Morocco was cooperating with Spain in returning migrants who crossed the border. At the same time, he attributed the events to a Russian-Israeli disinformation campaign. But the conclusions presented in the police report do not align with that claim and point to Moroccan involvement in planning and directing what took place on the ground.
Another detail in the report concerns the participants’ actions after the events. According to police, most of them returned home within a short time, a fact that investigators say raises doubts about whether the border crossing was a routine migration attempt.
Following publication of the findings, Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, contacted the police commissioner this morning and demanded clarification regarding when the intelligence information reached police. In his letter, the minister said he had not known of any advance planning for the border crossing, even though the report indicates that a warning on the matter was conveyed to the Interior Ministry before the events began.
Alongside the police findings, the Spanish newspaper ABC reported, citing police sources, that among those who entered Ceuta were people previously convicted of offenses related to recruitment for the ISIS terrorist organization.
The report is being released at a particularly sensitive time: Ceuta is marking its national holiday today, and protests against government policy are expected to take place across Spain. Among other demands, demonstrators are expected to call for stronger security in Spain’s enclaves.
