Donald Trump has lashed out over the migrant “catastrophe” in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, while his White House administration have placed the blame on Madrid’s left-wing government.
The US president maintains a strained relationship with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been one of his most ardent critics among EU leaders.
“I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country,” Trump said in a cabinet meeting on Friday.
“Hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing’s going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected, except worse, much bigger, much easier to get into.”
His comments come after an estimated 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the north African enclave, with at least 67 people killed.
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump shared a video of the chaotic crossing and wrote: "What's happening with Spain, with tens of thousands of Illegal Immigrants invading it, happened in the United States during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, and it will happen again, only worse, if the Dumocrats ever again gain power."
US vice president JD Vance was more explicit in placing blame on the Sánchez’s government, writing: “Thank God POTUS was elected and our country’s border no longer looks like this.
“These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West.”
Vance sparked outrage after launching a scalding attack on European democracies at the Munich Security Conference last year, when he said that mass immigration had been caused by “a series of conscious decisions” made by EU politicians.
Since being re-elected to office, Trump’s relationship with Spain has deteriorated over defence spending and the conflict with Iran.
In July at the Nato summit in Ankara, the president instructed his advisers to "cut off all trade with Spain, including visits”, before softening his stance.
The US department of state also waded into the crisis, with a post directly condemning Spain for the border breach in Ceuta.
“This unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe,” a spokesperson said.
“We are considering actions to defend Americans at home and abroad from this threat and stand ready to assist other European allies considering similar options. If Spain had their own President Trump, this wouldn’t be an issue.”
Other senior US officials have waded into the argument, including US house speaker Mike Johnson, who claimed that the “socialists are ruining Spain” and that the mass influx was “Marxism in practice”.
Tech billionaire and former Trump adviser Elon Musk shared a video from the 2013 zombie film ‘World War Z’ with the caption: “Wow, the situation in Spain looks crazy!”.
He later clarified he was “just kidding” and then shared footage from 2023 of Venezuelan migrants attempting to cross into the US, noting: “This is what America looked like under Biden.”
Ceuta, which shares a land border with Morocco, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Though it is part of Spain, it has a carve-out from the usual requirements of the Schengen free travel area - meaning it is not possible for migrants in Ceuta to simply sail across the Strait and be allowed into mainland Europe as they will face additional border checks.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez described the inflow of people as “an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity” and promised to “use all the resources of the state to guarantee security and coexistence”.
Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, added that "practically the entirety of those who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco".
