The chief of staff of the Ceuta delegation who spoke with the CNI resigns

MadridFirst resignation following the declassification of documents regarding the Ceuta crisis. According to sources from the Spanish government confirmed to ARA, the chief of staff to the government delegate in the autonomous city, Carlos Sanz, has resigned after it became known that he spoke with the CNI the day before the mass entry of immigrants into Ceuta. Messages in which he was warned of mass calls to cross the border. According to the Ceuta government delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, he was not informed of this conversation with the Spanish intelligence services. Triano, however, has ruled out leaving his post.

What was said in the conversation? In the declassified messages, it can be seen how, via WhatsApp, a CNI agent warned Sanz that there was a call with a reach capacity of 180,000 people, but according to Pérez Triano, this information was not escalated. There was also a call, the content of which has not transpired. However, the same Ceuta delegate and the Spanish government have asserted that the CNI's notice was not a formal alert and that the intelligence services limited themselves to relaying calls that were already known without warning of the magnitude of what could happen.

Thus, they reaffirm that there was not enough information to prevent the mass entry of immigrants, despite the fact that various informative notes from security forces spoke of an increase in arrivals by sea in Ceuta –following the Supreme Court ruling that rejected summary expulsions on July 8th– and of various calls on social media to cross the border on Morocco's Throne Day.

Clash between Morocco and the PP

Precisely this Thursday, the Alawite regime wanted to have its say after all political groups except the PSOE have been pointing to it as an active or passive author of the Ceuta crisis. Faced with the accusations, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry warned that it "will not accept being the scapegoat" in the political battle in Spain and regretted that Spanish political parties "with a long history" have "fallen into an irrational and populist escalation," alluding to the PP. This Friday, the Popular Party responded with a statement in which they maintain a harsh tone against the Alawite regime. They reiterate that the Ceuta crisis is an "invasion" and a "serious violation of the territorial integrity of Spain and Europe," a "hybrid attack with an instrumentalization of irregular immigration," and continue to point to Morocco as responsible "by action or omission."

For this reason, the PP reaffirms that it "will defend the interests" of the State and the integrity of its borders with "firmness": "There is nothing above the defense of Spain," they declare. For now, the reports declassified by the Spanish government do not speak of Morocco as a planner of the crisis, but several notes from security forces do highlight a "passive" attitude of the security forces on July 30 at the border, where there were fewer personnel due to the Throne Day.

Fire in immigrant shacks

At the same time, the humanitarian crisis on the streets is worsening. A fire this morning in a warehouse in the El Tarajal industrial estate has destroyed 42 shacks where some of the immigrants who entered Ceuta irregularly on July 30th and 31st were sleeping.

It was the neighbors in the area who raised the alarm. The magnitude of the flames prompted the intervention not only of the city's firefighters but also of personnel from the National Police, the Civil Guard, and the army. Officers evacuated the immigrants sleeping in the area in makeshift camps because they either lack space in the designated facilities or do not want to go there for fear of being deported to Morocco. Despite the magnitude of the flames, there were no injuries.

The fire originated in the irregular camp, likely from one of the bonfires the occupants build to keep warm during the night. The fire has destroyed the precarious structures, made of wood and plastic, according to various agencies.