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

MadridFirst resignation after the declassification of documents on the Ceuta crisis. As confirmed by Spanish government sources 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 migrants 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 is seen how through 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 whose content has not transpired. However, the Ceuta delegate himself and the Spanish government have assured 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 happened.

Thus, they reaffirm that there was not enough information to prevent the mass entry of migrants, despite the fact that several informative notes from the security forces conveyed an increase in entries by sea into Ceuta following the Supreme Court ruling that rejected the hot returns of July 8th and various calls on social networks 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 perpetrator 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," in allusion 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 they continue to point to Morocco as responsible "by action or omission."

For this reason, the PP reaffirms that they "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 an agent planning the crisis, but several notes from the security forces do highlight a "passive" attitude of the security forces on July 30th at the border, where there were fewer personnel due to the Throne Day.

Fire at migrant barracks

In parallel, on the street, the humanitarian crisis is worsening. A fire last night in a warehouse in the Tarajal industrial estate destroyed 42 shacks where some of the migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly on July 30th and 31st were sleeping.

It was the residents of the area who raised the alarm. The magnitude of the flames caused the intervention not only of the city's firefighters but also of units from the national police, the civil guard, and the army. The agents evacuated the migrants sleeping in the area in makeshift camps because they either do not have a place in the authorized spaces or do not want to go for fear of being deported to Morocco. Despite the magnitude of the flames, there were no injuries.

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