The Ceuta crisis escalates after a police report blames Morocco for the mass influx of migrants

Eduardo González The political crisis caused by the mass influx of migrants into Ceuta at the end of July has escalated further following a report in the newspaper 'El Español' stating that the National Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF), the intelligence unit of the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders, informed Judge María Tardón of the National Court that the assailants were guided by Moroccan gendarmes. Specifically, according to the newspaper, the CENIF report indicates that the assault was an action planned by Rabat with the aim of overwhelming the border control system and eliminating Spain's capacity to respond. The report also asserts that this operation is related to Morocco's territorial claim to the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla. To date, both the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and his ministers (including the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, and the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska) have openly exonerated Morocco from the assault and insisted that it was due to misinformation circulating on social media following the Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the return of migrants who reach Spain by swimming, as well as the actions of criminal organizations and the maneuvers of Russia and Israel. Following the publication of this news, Grande-Marlaska has demanded that the Director General of the National Police, Francisco Pardo, verify the report "as soon as possible" and clarify "when the National Police acquired this investigation," so that the Government can take the "appropriate measures." He also warned Pardo that "information like this should have been immediately made available to the members of the National Security Council." For his part, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with Parliament, Félix Bolaños, has called for “utmost caution” regarding the report and has asserted that the Government “must work with reliable, objective, and accredited information that we have access to and can therefore analyze in absolute detail.” Likewise, the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, has asked that no “conjectures” be made and reminded listeners, in statements to RNE, that “Grande-Marlaska has requested to know if this report is real and what its contents are,” and therefore, it is up to him to provide explanations with “transparency” when he has all the information. Sumar calls for the summons of the Moroccan ambassador One of the strongest reactions has come from Sumar, a minority party in the coalition government. Its general coordinator and spokesperson in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, has called on the government to urgently summon the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, to demand explanations should the report be confirmed. According to Martínez Barbero, “continuing to claim that Morocco had nothing to do with it is becoming increasingly difficult.” Therefore, she has demanded “clarity and transparency” and warned that “if this information was not passed on to the Ministry of the Interior, those responsible must be held accountable, because it is a very serious matter.” Meanwhile, Sumar's deputy spokesperson and Compromís deputy, Alberto Ibáñez, has requested in Congress that his party be granted access to the police report. The People's Party demands resignations In a much harsher tone, the Secretary General of the People's Party, Miguel Tellado, declared this Wednesday that "this government cannot remain in the Moncloa Palace for one more minute" because "it has lied to the people of Ceuta and has lied to Spanish society." "Today, Marlaska should be submitting his resignation, and Sánchez should be taking responsibility for his irresponsibility, dissolving Parliament, and calling general elections," he warned. In his opinion, if the Minister of the Interior was unaware of the report, "he is utterly incompetent and must go home; if he was aware of it, and I am certain he was, he is irresponsible" because "his actions, his inaction, have caused the deaths of dozens of people who tried to enter Spain." For his part, the national spokesperson for the People's Party, Borja Sémper, declared that "it is hardly credible that the Prime Minister knew nothing and that the Minister of the Interior was unaware of it." “There is an open legal proceeding in the National Court and everyone is going to try to save themselves: they've been caught red-handed,” he stated. “Tonight's letter from Minister Marlaska is a criminal firewall,” he warned.

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