Spain and Europe review social networks to prevent a new massive entry to Ceuta

CeutaJust one week after thousands of migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco – an episode that has become the most tragic border crisis in recent years, with around eighty fatalities – rumors about the possibility of a massive attempt being repeated continue to grow. Social networks – TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp above all – have been filled for days with videos mostly in Darija, the dialect of Arabic spoken in northern Morocco, calling for people to swim from Castillejos (some videos refer to Fnideq) to the Spanish autonomous city on August 15th.

Different media outlets have echoed this, showing screenshots of these messages. Efe, for example, reports the following: slogans like 15/08, "al-hajma" (offensive, in Arabic) or "see you all there", and drawings of the Spanish flag, hourglasses, or emojis of swimmers crossing the sea. "Who's going on the 15th?" and "the road to Ceuta" are also some examples.

Given this situation, Spanish and European authorities state that they are monitoring and studying this phenomenon. This Thursday, the European Union announced that it will control and verify the possibility of a new entry in coordination with the Spanish government. The spokesperson for the European Commission, Guillaume Mercier, explained this Thursday that Frontex and Europol are "precisely monitoring the information space" of social networks in response to rumors of a new border crossing next weekend. "Everyone is very vigilant," he stated. However, he also stressed that "there are many reports circulating" and that "most are unverified".

In parallel, specialized units of the National Police and the Civil Guard are also analyzing these messages, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior to ARA. "It is inevitable to wonder if it will happen again when we have not yet recovered normality," warned the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas (PP), this Thursday. He defended this in a committee of the Eurochamber, in which he called for the "shielding" of the common border with Morocco, which is "everyone's," and requested more provision of "personal and material resources" in the area. "Our population feels sad, helpless, restless, fearful, and worried. And they have reasons, because it is inevitable to wonder if this will not happen at another time, and this will be the definitive one for the fall into the abyss," he said. However, he later added that he maintains his "absolute confidence" in the security forces and the army to prevent a similar situation.

For the moment, the spokesperson for the Community Executive has recalled that border control measures in Ceuta have been reinforced. For example, physical barriers and buoys have been installed in the sea. The same is intended to be done at the border with Melilla. What Spain and Europe want to avoid is a repeat of last Thursday's image. Tens of thousands of people, including many children and adolescents, threw themselves into the sea, risking their lives in a one-kilometer crossing which, at a minimum, has already resulted in the deaths of eighty people, while reports of missing persons continue to grow. Now, the priority is also to be able to offer protection to the unaccompanied minors who have remained in Ceuta, and whom the local government estimates at more than a thousand.

Manipulation in Russian origin channels

On the other hand, Brussels also reported this Thursday that it has detected Russian-origin foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) channels that attempted "very quickly" to amplify the migration crisis. "These could be state-controlled media, diplomatic channels, or government-aligned sources," he pointed out. Mercier specified that the messages appeared from July 30 onwards on different platforms. "Before this date, we had not seen this activity," he clarified. He also added that some social networks have already taken measures and have reported some incidents. "They are also applying their own policies regarding smuggling, violence, and incitement."

According to the Spanish government, migratory pressure at the border between Morocco and Ceuta before Thursday the 30th increased when these messages began to proliferate on social networks, some of which claimed that the Spanish border was open and could be crossed by swimming, the government explained. Pedro Sánchez's executive attributed the crisis to an "interested interpretation" of the Supreme Court's ruling on the returns of mafias trafficking people.

In fact, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, the Austrian Magnus Brunner, has once again focused on the mafias and has underlined the importance of moving forward with the approval of the so-called facilitation directive that the European Commission proposed in 2023, which allows for the sanctioning of those who facilitate illegal migration. "It is about dismantling illicit transit networks," he defended, in the Eurochamber committee on Ceuta.

This directive, criticized by pro-immigration organizations, awaits the negotiating position of the European Parliament, after the Council of the EU already established it in December 2024. The proposed regulation defines the facilitation of irregular entry, transit, or stay as a crime when committed in exchange for financial or material gain. Brunner maintains that what happened in the autonomous city is "conclusive proof" of the need for "a solid and effective tool to combat the illicit trafficking of people."