The investigating judge of the National Court María Tardón has agreed to assume jurisdiction over the investigation of the massive entry of immigrants into Ceuta. In an order issued this Monday, it states that there has been a "serious attack on the territorial integrity of Spain" and agrees with the National Police in understanding that there was "permissiveness" among agents of the Moroccan Security Forces and Corps while tens of thousands of migrants crossed the border to Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
Judge Tardón states that "a clear and undoubted favorable management of the process has also been evident from the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco." In his opinion, the events could constitute crimes against the peace or independence of the State and the rights of foreign citizens, in addition to reckless homicides and criminal organization. By assuming the jurisdiction to investigate these alleged crimes, the judge aligns herself with what was proposed by the chief prosecutor of the National Court, Jesús Alonso, in a letter dated last Friday.
The instructor of the National Court makes this decision after studying the report she commissioned from the National Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) of the National Police. As this document already pointed out, Tardón maintains that "this massive entry cannot be considered an isolated or casual event, nor can we speak of an event due to spontaneous generation." The judge agrees with the Police when explaining that the immigration purpose operated at the end of July "only as formal coverage", given that "the profile of the majority of the immigrants did not seek to remain in Spanish territory."
Furthermore, Tardón states in his writing that the CENIF warned on July 29 of the "extreme risk" of there being a massive entry into the autonomous city. Likewise, he reports that the effects of what happened have been projected "on different levels" such as "public security, health, social services, defense", as well as "others with an international or geopolitical profile."
The judge also highlights that the massive entry was organized in three different waves with the aim of "eliminating the physical response capacity of Spain's security forces." It was planned "from the absolute disregard for the life and physical integrity of some of the most vulnerable people, who were led to jump into the sea, without preparation, provided with inadequate clothing that, once wet, could, if not impede, seriously hinder their movements during the swim, and equipped with precarious buoyancy aids to be able to swim across the marine space."
As María Tardón points out, "the tragic consequence" of this action was the death of at least 83 people, since that is "the total number of bodies recovered in Spanish territorial waters."
Regarding Morocco's role in the crisis, the instructor agrees with the conclusions of the National Police, but speaks out in even more forceful terms. He believes that it is evident that "a clear and undoubted management that favored the process" was carried out from "the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco." It refers to the "verified and graphically contrasted behavior of the Moroccan Security Forces."
The order points to the evident "permissiveness" of the Moroccan agents, who did not carry out "any serious attempt to try to reduce, disperse or move the mass of people away from the border perimeter." The judge herself affirms in her writing that she "shares" the criteria of the National Police in this regard: the Moroccan agents carried out "active guidance" of the people who were heading to the autonomous city of Ceuta.
The resolution issued by María Tardón argues the reasons why the National Court is competent to carry out a criminal investigation into what happened. It states that it is up to this court to investigate incidentally committed crimes. Among them is a crime that "compromises the peace or independence of the State", since "with illegal acts or those that are not duly authorized, Spaniards are exposed to experiencing humiliation or reprisals against their persons or property."
Tardón understands that after the massive entry of immigrants into Ceuta there is a crime with "the intention of attacking the State, violating its territorial integrity as pointed out by the President of the Government, who, during his visit to Ceuta on July 31, 2026, defined the events as an attack, a violation of the territorial integrity of Spain." The judge endorses the terms expressed by the National Police and specifies that the access of a massive flow of migrants constitutes "one of the characteristic methods of the hybrid war or gray zone."
Tardón explains that these actions are "typical of States, criminal organizations or terrorist organizations" and that they are committed "against States." The use of migratory flows is "one more of the methods used in this so-called gray zone," he says, which is why it is appropriate to continue the investigation in the National Court. It is also up to the court to investigate the facts as it is an attack "against the form of Government."
María Tardón's order admits the appearance in the case of several popular accusations: the Iustitia Europa party - which filed the first complaint -, Vox, the PP and Ahora España, as well as the associations Hazte Oír, Zeolandia, Libertad y Justicia. On the other hand, the judge rejects the representation of Alvise Pérez's party, Se Acabó La Fiesta, understanding that his complaint directed against the king of Morocco has the sole intention of making a "political instrumentalization of the exercise of criminal action."
