Sánchez Demands Answers From Morocco Over Ceuta Migrant Surge

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for the first time on Thursday, pressed Morocco over why its forces did not halt the influx of tens of thousands of migrants who entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa in July. He stressed, however, that his administration has found no proof that Morocco “designed or carried out” the mass movement.

Sánchez told Parliament that an investigation is required to establish the cause of the migrants’ rush toward the border on July 30.

He said that whether there was incapacity or inaction must be clarified.

In July, over 70,000 migrants surged into Ceuta—a small Spanish enclave nestled between Morocco and the Mediterranean—within a few days. The typically heavily guarded border was quickly overwhelmed, triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Approximately 90 percent of the migrants returned to Morocco within 72 hours, yet at least 5,000 remain, placing mounting political pressure on Sánchez. In recent weeks, migrants have established camps along the shoreline.

On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people took to plazas across Spain to protest Sánchez’s management of the crisis and to demonstrate solidarity with Ceuta, where many exasperated residents say they feel abandoned by the authorities.

This week, opposition leaders seized on a police report indicating that Morocco did little to curb the influx—or may have even orchestrated it—and accused Sánchez of failing to protect Spain.

“The operation originated in Morocco, was permitted by Morocco, and there are indications that Morocco coordinated it, and the government was warned about it,” said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative opposition.

The Ceuta crisis stands as one of the most formidable challenges Sánchez has faced since taking office in 2018.

He has navigated natural disasters, corruption trials, a nationwide blackout and a fatal train crash. Yet the Ceuta crisis drew worldwide attention and provided right‑wing populist factions with ammunition for what they described as their worst‑case scenario.

It also jeopardized Sánchez’s crucial partnership with Morocco—a key partner in managing migration—and his image as a progressive, pro‑immigration leader ahead of next year’s general election.

In his first parliamentary address on the crisis Thursday, Sánchez said he had summoned Morocco’s ambassador to Spain last month to protest after Morocco’s justice minister claimed a “historic right” over Ceuta and Melilla—two territories that have been Spanish for centuries.

Emphasizing his commitment to humanitarian values and international law, Sánchez asked whether his detractors would have used lethal force against the migrants—141 of whom died during the crossing, most by drowning—to prevent them from entering.

However, Sánchez’s critics have been bolstered by the police report, leaked to Spanish media earlier this week, which alleges that Moroccan authorities “guided” migrants across the maritime border and deployed security personnel among them.

The report, obtained by The New York Times and verified by the Interior Ministry, was compiled by a national police unit specialized in border security and draws on public interviews as well as an analysis of social‑media images and footage.

It contains no conclusive new proof of Morocco’s direct involvement in the border crossings, yet concludes that the surge was not “accidental.”

The Spanish government described the report as a rehash of publicly available information, arguing that human traffickers could not have assembled such large numbers. Both Spain and Morocco have attributed the surge to a viral social‑media misinformation campaign orchestrated by smugglers.

Moroccan officials did not immediately respond to Sánchez’s Thursday remarks and have not publicly addressed the police report. Abdellatif Ouahbi, Morocco’s justice minister, said in a televised interview last month that Moroccan forces had exercised restraint in handling the crowds entering Ceuta to avoid bloodshed.

The report described uniformed guards apparently instructing migrants on how to cross. It also highlighted photographs of middle‑aged men with “short, well‑groomed hair” wearing “neutral, inconspicuous polo shirts,” suggesting they were undercover Moroccan security agents whose behavior “did not match that of the broader group,” the report noted.

Spain’s national police chief, Francisco Pardo Piqueras, wrote to the Interior Ministry that the report does not assign “the planning or execution” of the migration crisis to Morocco, according to a ministry statement released this week. Nonetheless, the report has intensified suspicions.

“It was Morocco, we are convinced,” said Natalia Gómez, 56, at a demonstration on Wednesday in Madrid, standing beside her mother, who held a Ceuta flag and a sign depicting Sánchez behind bars from her wheelchair.

Pedro Fernández, 54, cited the police report as proof of a Moroccan invasion. “And if the prime minister claims he wasn’t aware of this,” he said, “then he should resign!”

In Parliament, Sánchez dismissed as “absurd” the suggestion that he had prior warning of the surge and outlined measures intended to expedite the processing of migrant cases and aid Ceuta residents. “Nothing will be enough until normalcy returns,” he said.

Carlos Barragán and Aida Alami contributed reporting.

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