Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament on Thursday that his government has received no conclusive evidence showing that Morocco planned or organized the large-scale influx of migrants into Ceuta at the end of July, effectively pushing back against reports in the Spanish media alleging a possible Moroccan role in the events.
Speaking before the Spanish Congress, Sánchez said his government had not received from any security service or international body “conclusive evidence that Morocco planned or arranged” the movement of migrants toward the Spanish enclave.
His remarks came a day after Spanish newspaper El Español reported on an alleged police security report pointing to Moroccan involvement in the influx. The report, according to the newspaper, referred to an alleged failure by Moroccan security forces to prevent tens of thousands of migrants from moving toward Ceuta.
Sánchez's statement therefore appears to contradict, the conclusions suggested by the report cited by El Español. The Spanish prime minister stressed that investigations into what happened remain ongoing and that his government would act decisively if solid evidence of deliberate involvement by Moroccan authorities were eventually established.
The influx occurred in late July, when large numbers of migrants attempted to reach Ceuta, with the movement putting significant pressure on Spanish security forces and local authorities. Spanish authorities subsequently increased controls around the enclave and coordinated the return of many of those who had entered.
The vast majority of the migrants who reached Ceuta during the episode have since returned to Morocco, either through voluntary returns or under existing arrangements between the two countries. However, several thousand migrants are still believed to remain in the city, according to Spanish authorities and reports concerning the aftermath of the influx.
The episode has triggered a political and security debate in Spain over how such a large movement of migrants was able to develop and whether Moroccan authorities could have done more to prevent it. Madrid has so far stopped short of publicly attributing the influx to a deliberate decision by Rabat.
Sánchez also acknowledged that “things failed” within Spain's intelligence and information services, while rejecting claims that the government had received prior warnings about the mass arrival. He said any findings emerging from the ongoing investigation would be made public with “total transparency.”
