Feijóo asserts that Vivas “thwarted an invasion plan” that included “some kind of concession” to Morocco

The Diplomat The president of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, asserted this Monday that the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, “thwarted an invasion plan” by Morocco that would have included “some kind of concession to the neighboring country.” For his part, Vivas himself has accused Rabat of being “behind the coup,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has declared that the “ultimate reason” for the massive influx of migrants into Ceuta is “inequality and poverty,” and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has insisted that "there is no evidence" of "any intervention by Morocco." During a breakfast briefing organized by New Economy Forum in Madrid, Juan Jesús Vivas, Feijóo insisted that Morocco had “sponsored” the “invasion” of Ceuta and highlighted, therefore, the “energy” and “composure” shown by the president of Ceuta in defending the Autonomous City “without setting it ablaze.” In the opinion of the PP leader, Vivas “has thwarted a plan that began with the invasion, continued with the resignation of the local population and the indifference of the rest of Spain, and ended with some kind of concession to the neighboring country.” Regarding the recent summons of the Moroccan ambassador, Karima Benyaich, in protest against statements made by several Moroccan ministers against the Spanish sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, announced last week by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Congress (the ambassador was absent, and the chargé d'affaires was ultimately summoned), Feijóo warned that “Spaniards have the right to know what Spain has conveyed and what response it has received.” “We want to know what questions were asked, what explanations were requested from the ambassador,” and what “has been conveyed in response to the repeated questioning by several Moroccan government ministers regarding the Spanish sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla,” he stated. “We want to know Morocco’s response, whether any information has been provided, whether there has been any retraction, and whether the ambassador will actually be summoned,” he added. For his part, Vivas insisted on accusing Rabat of these incidents, which represent, more than a migration crisis, “an existential and state crisis that affects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Spain.” “I’m going to take a risk, I’m going to go out on a limb based on the evidence and my convictions: I am convinced that Morocco is behind this coup,” having once again used “border control and migratory pressure as a tool to serve political ends” and to jeopardize Spain’s territorial integrity. Albares and Marlaska For his part, José Manuel Albares stated this Monday that the Government continues “analyzing the causes and motives” of the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta, which took place on July 30 and 31, and warned that “there is always an underlying reason: inequality and poverty.” Likewise, the Foreign Minister insisted that the Ministry, through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID), is working “to help Ceuta return to normal and to preserve its most precious assets: coexistence and diversity.” Albares made these statements during the event ‘Strategic Alliances for a World with Zero Hunger,’ held at the Agency’s headquarters in Madrid to mark International Development Cooperation Day. Also from the government, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska reiterated on Monday his “confidence in Morocco, in the cooperation and coordination with them, which is excellent in all areas,” and harshly criticized Núñez Feijóo’s position. “This country needs serious politicians,” he warned. “Those who are not here to help are better off staying home,” he added. Marlaska also asserted that, despite the report submitted to the National Court by the National Intelligence and Borders Center (CENIF) of the National Police (which denounces the participation of Moroccan gendarmes in the incidents), “to this day there is no element based on any minimally logical, reasonable and objective fact of any intervention by Morocco or any other State, nor of any specific agent or person as the

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