The director of the Spanish police denies that the report on the mass entry into Ceuta blames Morocco

MadridA report that the National Centre for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) has sent to the National Court regarding the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta at the end of July has fully shaken political news. The document, first reported by El Español, states that Moroccan gendarmes, in uniform and plain clothes, gave instructions to migrants to head towards certain areas to be able to access Ceuta. After the news broke, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, sent a letter to the Director General of the Spanish Police, Francisco Pardo, asking for explanations about the "veracity" of the report, arguing that it is "essential" for the Spanish government to be able to "adopt the appropriate decisions". "This would be information that must be immediately made available to the members of the National Security Council," Marlaska reproached him.

The Director General of the Spanish Police replied that it was the judge of the National Court who has the case on her desk who gave orders to the investigators not to provide any information to their superiors about the preparation and content of the report. This is why he had no prior knowledge. Now María Tardón has authorized access to it and, despite what "El Español" has revealed, sources from the Ministry of the Interior assure that Francisco Pardo has communicated that "no police report exists" that "attributes" to the Moroccan Security Forces the "planning or execution" of the massive entry of migrants.

Previously, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, Félix Bolaños, had assured that Moncloa became aware of the report through the press: "At this time we are analyzing the details, we do not want to anticipate events," he said at a press conference. And he recommended "maximum caution" regarding the content of the document until they know it "in detail and in depth". He emphasized that the Spanish government is the "first interested party" in "knowing what happened" and wanted to deny that Pedro Sánchez's executive had hidden information – "absolutely not," he affirmed – while boasting of having "informed citizens in real time" with the "reliable and objective information available to them".

An alert at border crossings the day before the massive entry

On the other hand, CENIF sent a notice on July 29 to the border crossings of Ceuta and Melilla. The document, to which ARA has had access, explained that a "potential risk of irregular entries" had been noted for the next day and pointed to the "possible consequences derived" from the Supreme Court's ruling on hot returns. It also indicated an "extreme risk" of coordinated swimming entries and fence jumps. Now the director general of the Spanish police has explained that it was a "frequent risk alert" that "did not include any allusion" to a "possible massive entry".