One day after the reports of the Spanish intelligence services on the jump to Ceuta were declassified, and after the approval in Congress of the nationality law for the Sahrawis was confirmed, Morocco has once again spoken out openly about the crisis with an exculpatory message and a future warning to the parties with historical experience of Government, in a completely veiled allusion to the Popular Party.
An unusually forceful statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has led Rabat to refer for the first time to the arrival of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta on July 30 and 31 as “regrettable events.” Also to reject the “accusations” for the alleged responsibility of the Maghreb country in the massive violation of the Spanish border. In the diplomatic letter, it is stated that "no data, facts or reports establish any involvement of the Moroccan authorities."
The first official explicit message in more than a month from one of the sovereignty ministries directly linked to the Royal Palace, Morocco considers “especially regrettable that historical parties—despite their extensive experience in government management—have fallen into this quagmire in which irrational and populist escalation prevails over common sense.”
The Rabat statement, which contains an indirect mention of a future PP government, confirms that geographical proximity is an immutable reality, but warns that "it is the political leaders who, with courage and vision, turn it into an advantage for the future." Otherwise, “strategic blindness will transform this advantage into a source of chronic distrust and recurring tensions,” he warns.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the same time criticizes that “certain Spanish political and media sectors persist in instrumentalizing” Morocco “within the framework of an internal agenda.” The statement emphasizes that "the Kingdom of Morocco refuses to become an electoral resource" for the internal dispute in Spain and "nor does it accept being the scapegoat for settling political scores."
Coinciding with the start of the campaign for the legislative elections on the 23rd in Morocco, in which the issue of Ceuta and Melilla is waved as a banner of nationalist support by the parties, the Foreign Affairs statement reflects the discontent of the Government of Rabat over the declassification of the Spanish intelligence reports. All the reports contain reproaches to the Moroccan authorities and their security forces for having also failed to stop an avalanche of tens of thousands of young people that overflowed the Tarajal breakwater in Ceuta in just over 24 hours.
Rabat returns the incriminating ball to drop it on the Spanish political terrain, which it already places on “electoral eve.” The diplomatic response also includes prestigious legislative [the debates in Congress] and judicial [the investigation opened in the National Court] institutions” to which it blames “errors through ill-advised initiatives that generate discord.”
“Discernment is overshadowed by excessive simplification and objective analysis by accusatory rhetoric,” the note emphasizes, in a speech closer to political dialectics than to diplomatic moderation. “They feed a strategy of fear that harms everyone,” he warns in a message that links to the concern of Moroccan civil society about the treatment given to the thousands of irregular migrants who have remained in Ceuta for more than a month. It also connects with a possible concern about the situation of a diaspora of around one million people of Moroccan origin settled in Spain.
In the statement, Morocco highlights the good bilateral relations established since 2022, after President Pedro Sánchez's turn in favor of the Rabat autonomy plan as a solution to the Western Sahara dispute, reflected in a "continuous dialogue" translated into "tangible results." He expressly cites the advances in economic matters, with Spain as the North African country's first trading partner; security, in the fight against jihadist terrorism and drug trafficking, and control of migratory flows.
Despite the migratory avalanche from Ceuta, Rabat defends that in this last field the “cooperation has been coordinated and effective” between both countries. “The unfortunate events of last July undoubtedly require a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances, identify any interference, expose any manipulation and, above all, ensure that they do not occur again,” the statement concludes.
Morocco reiterates its request for the return of the “illegal immigrants” who are on Spanish soil, whom it has officially committed to readmit, without offering further details six weeks after the massive jump. It also once again offers to receive "unaccompanied minors far from their families" for whom "Morocco has urgently requested their return", without mentioning the Spanish European legislation for special protection for young people and adolescents.
“The response corresponds to the competent Spanish authorities,” argues the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which appeals to “common sense” and dialogue. “Why continue making accusations against Morocco when there is no evidence,” asks the question that the diplomatic message to the other side of the Strait considers key.
