Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez Confirms Lack of Evidence Linking Morocco to Ceuta Border Incident

MADRID, Sept 3 (Reuters) — Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez informed lawmakers on Thursday that Spain has not uncovered any evidence suggesting Moroccan officials orchestrated or executed the deadly border incursion into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July.

Sanchez’s remarks in the lower house of parliament came after a police report surfaced this week, indicating that the mass entry into Ceuta was not a spontaneous migration event, but rather a coordinated and phased operation intended to overwhelm border control measures.

“I can assure you that no institution — neither our diplomatic service, the European Commission, nor any international body — has furnished the Spanish government with any concrete evidence that Morocco planned or executed the incident. Absolutely none,” Sanchez stated.

Nonetheless, Sanchez acknowledged that Morocco’s Gendarmerie police permitted crossings to take place over a critical 10-hour window on July 30, the period when migrant arrivals reached their peak. Spanish authorities are still investigating whether this resulted from inaction or an inability to manage the surge, according to Sanchez.

The police report, obtained by Reuters, claimed that Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in unusually low numbers near the Tarajal breakwater, which separates the enclave from the North African nation, and made no significant effort to disperse the crowds.

Certain Moroccan officers in uniform reportedly directed individuals toward the crossing point, while other unidentified individuals appeared to be guiding or overseeing the movement of people, according to the report. However, the document did not name individual officers nor present independently verified evidence of directives from Moroccan officials.

Moroccan officials have refuted claims that they facilitated the crossing.

(Reporting by David Latona and Benjamín Mejías Valencia; Editing by Andrei Khalip)

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