The National Court will investigate the migration crisis in Ceuta

Armando G. Tejeda

Correspondent

La Jornada Newspaper

Saturday, September 5, 2026, p. 18

Madrid. The migration crisis in Ceuta will be investigated by the Spanish justice system and the case will be in charge of María Tardón, judge of the National Court, after receiving the support of the prosecutor's office, which maintains that in the massive entry at the end of July several crimes could have been committed, including favoring irregular immigration, homicide and injuries due to serious recklessness, and criminal organization.

The Civil Guard delivered a new police report to the judge in which it confirmed that despite warnings of a possible massive arrival of migrants, the magnitude of the seriousness of what happened could not be foreseen, as the Spanish government maintains.

It is estimated that on July 30 and 31, between 75,000 and 95,000 migrants entered through the maritime and land border of Ceuta, with a provisional balance of 141 deaths.

The chief prosecutor of the National Court, Jesús Alonso, warned that "the facts investigated would constitute, without prejudice to the subsequent legal classification resulting from the investigation, of crimes whose investigation corresponds to bodies with the capacity to confront complex and organized criminal phenomena."

The prosecution maintained that “a substantial part of the planning, mobilization, logistical coordination, digital dissemination and eventual strategic direction phase would have been developed in Moroccan territory, while the material execution of the action, the desired result and the most relevant effects occurred in Spanish territory.”

The judge also has a report prepared by the border and immigration unit of the National Police, which suggests that the massive entry could have been “guided” by “agents” of the Moroccan gendarmerie, without confirming the active participation of the government of that country, as Spain also defends.

Tardón received the support of the National Court despite criticism from the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who regretted that the National Police report was hidden from him at the request of the judge.

The Chamber warns that the judge “not only has not interfered with national security with her actions,” but “she is acting for the preservation and defense of the general interest of Spain.”

At the same time, in Ceuta, the conservation association Defense of Urban Trees, Biodiversity and the Environment filed a complaint for the violent death of a dolphin calf that appeared disoriented on Trampolín beach and which, according to the complaint, was taken out of the water and beaten by several migrants.

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