Sánchez denounces, without mentioning any country, the “attack on Spain’s territorial integrity” in Ceuta

Eduardo González The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, asserted this Friday, without mentioning any country, that the massive influx of irregular migrants into Ceuta represents “an attack and a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” because, he warned, the citizens of the Autonomous City are “as Spanish as if they lived on the M30 ring road in Madrid.” He also insisted that the origin of this crisis is the Supreme Court ruling, which “has spread like wildfire through mafia networks,” and thanked Morocco for its “willingness and cooperation” in the process of “repatriating the migrants.” “What happened yesterday is an attack, a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” Sánchez declared to the media in Ceuta, where he was accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the President of the Autonomous City, Juan José Vivas, attended the coordination meeting to address the crisis, where he met with representatives of the State Security Forces at the Tarajal border crossing. “Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our strongest possible condemnation and rejection. We deplore the violation and attack on the territorial integrity of a Spanish city like Ceuta,” he insisted. “The Government of Spain stands with Ceuta, as do all Spanish citizens, and, of course, we will defend the security, coexistence, prosperity, and peace of mind of the citizens of Ceuta as if they lived on the M30 ring road in the capital of Spain, because there is no periphery and center when we are talking about the security, prosperity, coexistence, and cohesion of any of the territories and any of the cities in our country,” he affirmed. According to Pedro Sánchez stated, “The Spanish government will use all the levers of the State, all the resources of the State, to guarantee the safety of Ceuta's citizens.” He added, “In any case, the most urgent thing right now is to restore normality, guarantee security, and above all, not jeopardize social harmony.” The Supreme Court ruling In the opinion of the Prime Minister, and following the discussions the Government has held with Moroccan authorities, “what underlies this is the self-serving interpretation that human trafficking mafias have made of a Supreme Court ruling. This ruling simply ratifies a previous decision by the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, which states that the repatriation of individuals who enter our territory by swimming across the sea is not applicable to border repatriations, as there is no physical border like the one that exists, for example, when crossing a land border.” “It seems that this interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling has spread like wildfire in recent hours through the human trafficking mafia networks, producing an avalanche of the scale and nature we witnessed yesterday,” he declared. Proof of this, he asserted, is that “over the last few years, what we have seen in Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands—in short, along Spain’s Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts—has been a systematic reduction in the arrival of irregular migration flows.” “Specifically, so far this year, these flows have decreased by around 36 to 37 percent, and last year, too, a consistent reduction in irregular migration arrivals was recorded, of around 40 percent,” he specified. “Therefore, what happened yesterday breaks a consistent trend of reduced irregular flows, and it is true, and I also want to point this out, that in recent days, following the announcement of this ruling, there has been a spike in irregular migration arrivals to the autonomous city of Ceuta,” he added. Measures and cooperation with Morocco Regarding the measures adopted by the Government, Pedro Sánchez announced that “the number of Civil Guard and National Police officers has been increased by 400, which, combined with the deployment of the Armed Forces—the Army and the Navy—will ensure their presence in the Autonomous City of Ceuta, in its streets and squares, to guarantee the peace and security of Ceuta's residents.” In addition, buoys will be deployed at El Espigón (the breakwater) to “comply with the Supreme Court ruling and, at least, create a containment barrier, a physical barrier, at least visually.” The President also announced the expedited processing of “the files and the repatriation of migrants who have entered irregularly, primarily since yesterday.” “Today, the Asylum Commission met urgently to expedite these deportation proceedings, thus facilitating the repatriation of migrants who have entered our country irregularly,” he stated. Sánchez also highlighted the “cooperation with our neighboring country, Morocco,” not only to “fight, as we have been doing repeatedly in recent years, against the human trafficking networks,” but also “to expedite the repatriation of citizens from their countries of origin.” He added, “I am grateful for the willingness and cooperation” of the Moroccan authorities “to ensure that this repatriation, and therefore the departure of the migrants who arrived irregularly, takes place as soon as possible.” Message to Italy Following the press conference, Sánchez posted a message on social media, clearly directed at the Italian government and its threat to close the Schengen Area to Spain, in which he stated that “solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not.” “Number of irregular entries between 2021 and 2026 according to Frontex: via Italy: 478,600; via the Western Balkans: 340,600; via Greece: 259,800; via Spain: 234,760; via the eastern border: 48,000,” he added.

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