The crisis in Ceuta: did communication fail between Defense and Interior?

BarcelonaThis Monday, some media outlets have stated that the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) repeatedly warned the Ministry of the Interior that a massive influx of people from Morocco was approaching. However, sources from the Ministry of the Interior consulted by ARA have dismissed having any knowledge of the start of this crisis. "If we had had knowledge of a report that said what was going to happen on the 30th, we would obviously have acted," the same sources stated. We recall that the responsibilities for border management fall to the ministry led by Fernando Grande-Marlaska, but intelligence services depend on the Ministry of Defence.

This past weekend, Marlaska already assured that Spanish intelligence services had not warned of what would happen on July 30th. "They had not prepared any report warning [about the crisis in Ceuta]," he said. In fact, the Minister of the Interior also stated that he believed a similar crisis would not happen again: "We have the instruments to prevent it." The Spanish government continues to point to the mafias and the "interested interpretation" of the recent Supreme Court ruling on returns. And this Sunday, Morocco pointed in the same direction when it broke its silence with a late statement acknowledging the recovery of 11 bodies in its waters.

In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has highlighted Morocco's collaboration "to try to prevent this flow of people" to Ceuta and, above all, for them to return immediately, "as is happening." When asked about a possible rift within the Spanish government, Albares assured that all ministries "have done everything in their power" to manage this crisis in the best possible way and also praised the work of the police, the Civil Guard, and the army.

The migratory crisis in Ceuta continues to take its toll on the city, even though the situation is gradually normalizing. The cancellation of the local fair and the fear of going out on the streets have left beaches, restaurants, and shops much emptier than usual. In an interview with El País, the president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, has not hesitated to criticize both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Spanish government for the crisis that has pushed the population of Ceuta to the limit. He accuses Morocco of having facilitated the border crisis and calls for decisive action from the European Union: "We must demand that it respect Spain's territorial integrity".

Vivas assures that the population experienced the crisis as an attack on national sovereignty, rather than a migratory crisis, and calls for the immediate expulsion of the migrants remaining in Ceuta "through El Tarajal", the border crossing. The president has not hesitated to be critical of the Spanish executive's response, reproaching them for having ignored the prior warnings from the Ceuta government, and calls for putting "all the necessary means in place so that this does not happen again". "We defend the equality of all Ceutans, regardless of their religion or name. This societal model is non-negotiable", assures Vivas, who, with this statement, seeks to emphasize that Ceuta is an example of coexistence between religions and cultures, distancing himself from extremist discourse.

Meanwhile, the National Court has requested a police report to determine if it has jurisdiction to investigate the massive entry of migrants. Specifically, it has agreed to open preliminary proceedings regarding the entry of migrants from Morocco and has requested a report from the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders to ascertain whether it was an "organized action or directed by some organization or criminal group". The National Court also requests the identification of anyone who may have participated in the actions. Once it receives the report, it will decide whether it has jurisdiction to assume the investigation through the criminal route following a complaint from the anti-European political party Iustitia Europa.