This is confirmed by one of the documents declassified by the Madrid government, according to which last July 29, on the eve of the mass arrival of at least 70 thousand migrants, the Spanish National Intelligence Center had reported a possible assault by sea and land in the exclave. The CNI warned of the existence of groups on social networks that were preparing a mass entry of migrants
Spanish intelligence had warned the government of a possible mass entry of migrants into Ceuta. This is confirmed by one of the documents declassified by Madrid, according to which last July 29, on the eve of the mass arrival of at least 70 thousand migrants, the National Intelligence Center, i.e. the Spanish secret services, had reported a possible assault by sea and land in the exclave in North Africa. In particular, in a communication with the Government Delegation in Ceuta and the Guardia Civil, the CNI warned of the existence of groups on social networks that were preparing a mass entry of migrants. "There are two different groups with a total of 180 thousand followers", we read in an "urgent" communication from the CNI dated 29 July.
Social groups for mass entry
The notes noted the existence of two WhatsApp groups that organized a mass entry by sea and land into Ceuta, on the occasion of the Moroccan Throne Festival on 30 July. A first group called "Assault Ceuta" with around 160 thousand users, and a second with 22 thousand users. According to intelligence sources cited by Cadena Ser, the documents constitute proof that the Moroccan authorities had been warned, but there had been "an error in the assessment of the threat". The notes, however, did not specify the size of the mass arrivals, with the actual entry into the exclave of over 72 thousand people, of which 90% later returned to Morocco, according to government estimates.
The notes of the Spanish secret services
Among the 40 documents declassified by the Spanish government, the CNI's tactical note was transmitted to Uce-3 of the Guardia Civil, the intelligence unit of the information service, and to Cenif, the equivalent unit of the national police at the Immigration Commissariat. An extraordinary communication was also sent to the government delegation in Ceuta. The same information was also sent to the Moroccan secret services, to the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), responsible for internal intelligence, and to the General Directorate of Studies and Documentation (DGED), responsible for external intelligence.
Spanish Foreign Minister: “No report on the extent of the assault”
According to the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares from Brussels, "no CNI report could have predicted the extent of what happened" in Ceuta "on 30 July", with the mass arrival of at least 70 thousand migrants. Albares then remarked that no intelligence report had predicted the size of the arrivals at the border, assuring that "from the first moment we had information" the government took action. The minister also reported that the satellite and monitoring means of the Frontex agency did not detect anything in the days preceding the mass entry into Ceuta of "what was produced" on 30 and 31 July in the autonomous city in Morocco.
Spanish Ministry of Defense: “No warning of the crisis in Ceuta”
The Spanish Ministry of Defense, headed by Margarita Robles, also intervened on the issue. "Lies, in politics, cannot be used as an argument to discredit the professionalism of the members of the CNI, who never received any CIA report on the invasion in Ceuta, as stated in parliament, taking advantage of the immunity of that cadre", the ministry declared in a note.
