Declassified Documents Reveal Spanish Intelligence Warnings Prior to Ceuta Border Influx

Declassified documents show Madrid and Morocco were warned of plans by migrants to breach Ceuta border before crisis in July.

Published On 10 Sep 202610 Sep 2026

Spain’s intelligence services had warned of possible mass crossings by migrants and asylum seekers into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta just before tens of thousands of people arrived in late July, according to declassified documents.

The release of a 40-document trove on Wednesday comes amid near-daily protests in Ceuta over the Spanish government’s handling of the crisis, as well as ongoing questions regarding the role of neighbouring Morocco.

The documents show that on July 29 — a day before more than 72,000 people began pouring into Ceuta from Morocco — Spain’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) sent an alert via WhatsApp to the Spanish government’s delegation in the city regarding social media calls “for an assault on the fence and by sea tomorrow at 8 pm”.

“There are two different groups with a total of 180,000 followers,” the declassified message noted, highlighting the significant scale of the mobilization online.

On the same day, the CNI also warned Moroccan intelligence agencies DGST and DGED of plans for migrants to enter Ceuta by climbing the border fence or swimming around it. The agency noted that the plans coincided with Morocco’s national Throne Day, celebrated on July 30.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected the notion that the declassified documents indicated prior warning of a border crisis of the scale that unfolded between July 30 and 31.

“The existence of this campaign was known to other institutions and was being monitored, but in no way did it constitute or could it be interpreted as an indicator of the scale, nature, or probability of what happened afterward,” Sanchez wrote on X.

There was no immediate comment from Morocco regarding the declassified documents.

Sanchez had previously stated there was no evidence of Morocco’s involvement in the crisis, despite a leaked police report in July that alleged “total permissiveness” from Moroccan police during the border rush.

A declassified document issued by the CNI at midday on July 30 states that it is “highly likely that the Moroccan authorities are not actively encouraging the migratory wave, but have so far acted in a negligent and passive manner”.

It added that, “at the operational level, no proactive response from Moroccan authorities was observed regarding the loss of control over the situation, beyond the deployment of a few riot control units”.

In the same note, it was mentioned that many people on the night of July 29 were already “waiting to jump into the water to reach Ceuta”.

“The increased presence of Moroccan police and gendarmes proved insufficient to control the crowd, and, that night, several hundred migrants swam across,” the document stated.

According to the Spanish government, about 5,000 migrants and asylum seekers, including 1,200 minors, still remain in Ceuta, more than a month after the mass crossing. Local officials estimate a higher figure of up to 10,000 people.

The population of Ceuta is roughly 84,000 people, comparable to that of Cuba.

Madrid has pledged $357 million in aid as some of the new arrivals remain unhoused in the small city.

The opposition has accused the government of failing to act despite having been alerted to the unfolding situation.

“The government knew everything that was happening… They had the information. They are directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta,” Ester Munoz, spokeswoman for the right-wing Popular Party in parliament, told reporters.

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