Sánchez maintains that Morocco did not "plan" the massive entry, but commits to investigate

MadridPedro Sánchez faced this Thursday one of the most difficult appearances of his presidency. He had to give an account of his management in Ceuta, immersed in a humanitarian and social crisis due to the massive entry of migrants on July 30 and 31. But the day was not only complicated because of this: just this Wednesday a police report emerged, brought forward by El Español, which put the president's narrative against the ropes: although the Moncloa has exculpated Morocco, the immigration unit of the National Police points to the Moroccan security forces as facilitators for more than 70,000 people crossing the borders. In his speech, Sánchez maintained that there is "no solid evidence" that Morocco "planned and executed" the massive entry of migrants, but he admitted that during the ten central hours of July 30, the Moroccan gendarmerie “allowed the crossing of the border”. “It will have to be determined whether there was incapacity or inaction, it is something that must be clarified”, he assured, thus committing himself to investigate.

Sánchez explained that Morocco had three moments on July 30 before, during, and after the massive entry of migrants. The Spanish president stated that previously the Moroccan officials acted normally and reported some incidents; a second moment in which he acknowledged that "during the ten central hours of July 30 in which the Moroccan gendarmerie allowed the crossing of the border"; and a third moment in which the same body "effectively controlled the border by carrying out hundreds of arrests, avoiding thousands of illegal crossings and decisively facilitating the returns". In this sense, he has committed to investigate the facts and to take necessary measures if evidence really appears, beyond that, that proves that Morocco is behind the crisis. He also revealed that on August 21 he summoned the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, after the claims of sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla by Moroccan ministers. "Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish and will be until the end of time", asserted Sánchez.

The president maintained the thesis he already presented on Monday, but with nuances. He emphasized the amplification on social media that generated a massive influx of migrants through 'fake news', such as the claim that borders were open or by manipulating the Supreme Court ruling in July that rejected summary expulsions by sea. However, he said that he has no evidence that Russia or Israel were behind it, but he did insist that there were social media accounts linked to pro-Russian, pro-Israeli, and far-right international ecosystems that generated the wave of people, added to an action by the "mafias".