Spain: declassification of reports on the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta

The Spanish government on Tuesday September 8 declassified intelligence reports on the illegal and massive entry of migrants into Ceuta from Morocco at the end of July, in the hope of dispelling doubts about what the executive knew before the crisis, and about Rabat's role in the events.

“We are taking a further step in our commitment to transparency and the right of citizens to know all the information,” praised government spokesperson Elma Saiz, following a council of ministers which approved the declassification of around forty documents, which will be made public on Wednesday.

An investigation has been opened

The forceful irruption, on July 30 and 31, of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco into this small Spanish territory still raises many questions, about whether the government had been warned by intelligence reports of what could happen and about the role played by the neighboring country in the crisis. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez affirmed last Thursday before deputies that the executive had not received any report allowing them to anticipate the extent of what happened in Ceuta.

The socialist leader also assured that no service had “provided the Spanish government with solid proof that Morocco planned or orchestrated” this influx of migrants. But doubts about Morocco's role intensified last week, after the leak of a police report pointing to the "permissiveness" of that country's security forces during the crisis.

Spanish justice opened an investigation into this crisis on Monday, based mainly on this police report, citing in particular “an undeniable management favoring the process” of entry of migrants “from the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco”. A majority of these migrants quickly returned to Morocco, but thousands remained in Ceuta, where the situation still remains tense today.

According to the Minister of Territorial Policy Ángel Víctor Torres, some 3,400 places have already been set up in Ceuta to accommodate migrants, many of whom still sleep on the beaches, and the objective is to reach 6,000 places in "the coming days", he assured Tuesday. The government is seeking to speed up the return of migrants, but must identify each of them to determine whether they qualify for asylum or can be deported, while thousands of minors must receive special protection.