Sánchez admits the State must “be better prepared” for future waves of migrants

Eduardo González The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, admitted this Wednesday that the State “must be better prepared” for future mass arrivals of migrants, like the one that occurred on July 30 and 31 in Ceuta, and described as “utterly outrageous” the invocation of Article 8 of the Constitution made by the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to prevent similar situations. For his part, the PP leader accused Sánchez of having “failed to protect his country” from “an aggression condoned or instigated by Morocco.” “The State must be better prepared,” Sánchez declared on the TVE program ‘Mañaneros 360º’. “There are two areas where the State needs to improve: one is how we prepare for hybrid attacks, and two, how autonomous cities, such as Ceuta and Melilla, prepare for the structural reality of the difference in per capita income and opportunities between one side of the border and the other,” he explained. According to the Prime Minister, “a massive influx of migrants was not anticipated,” but the government acted in the “most intelligent” way. “What would another government have done? Would they have opened fire on these young people, minors, children? Or wasn’t it more intelligent to allow them to enter so that, subsequently, 90 percent of them left the autonomous city of Ceuta in the following hours or days?” he added. On the other hand, Sánchez described Feijóo's words as "utterly outrageous," in which he asserted that if he ever came to power and received intelligence reports about a possible invasion plan, he would invoke Article 8 of the Constitution to "secure the borders," because "that's what it's for." "Article 8 of the Constitution states that it is the responsibility of the Armed Forces—the Army, Air Force, and Navy—to guarantee the territorial integrity of our country," the PP leader reminded everyone. According to the Prime Minister, if Feijóo were to apply this "armed response" to "an avalanche," it would contribute to generating "an even greater crisis, not only in Ceuta, but also in our bilateral relations with Morocco and, of course, a rather lamentable international image." “It is clear that the international far-right movement wants to bring down this government, and they are using Ceuta to incite hatred, fear, and xenophobia,” he said, adding that “fake news and disinformation” have contributed to this, involving “networks linked to Russia and Israel” and, “unfortunately, also far-right think tanks in the United States.” The Prime Minister also reiterated, as he did last week in Congress, that the King will visit Ceuta in the “nearby” and that both the Government and the Royal Household are working on this. “The fact is that Ceuta needs the support and affection of all institutions today, and it is more than justified, and more necessary than ever, for the Head of State to visit Ceuta and Melilla,” he added. Feijóo in Congress For his part, Alberto Núñez Feijóo stated this Tuesday before the full Congress (in the first question time session of the new term, which the Prime Minister attended) that Pedro Sánchez is not a “free president” because “his freedom is conditional on many people remaining silent.” “His political and legal future depends on the silence of too many people,” he continued. “If Morocco talks, you’re out,” he added. For this reason, he denounced, Sánchez “is not fit to protect the fourth largest economy in the Eurozone from an aggression condoned or instigated by Morocco.” “He has failed to protect his country, and his country will make him pay for it,” he warned. In the same session, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, asked the People’s Party (PP) “not to spread misinformation,” after the opposition party’s spokesperson, Miguel Tellado, claimed that the CIA had alerted the National Intelligence Center (CNI) about the avalanche. “Do you realize the seriousness of what you said?” the minister asked him. “He is accusing” the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, of not having brought “news of such importance to the attention of the National Security Council; please be more serious, don't spread rumors,” he warned. The CIA warnings, he clarified, referred to “a slightly higher increase” in swimmers entering the country, “but in no way to what actually happened.” “There was no report on the matter, nor anything similar to what occurred on July 30, nor anything similar to what happened in 2021 with slightly more than 10,000 swimmers entering the country,” he added.

Related Content

PP responds to Morocco, accusing it of being "responsible, by action or omission," for the Ceuta migrant influx

Felipe VI will receive the Letters of Credence from the ambassadors of Ghana, Chile, Venezuela, Nigeria, Thailand, and Palestine on Monday

King Felipe VI presides over 25th anniversary of 9/11 commemoration in Rota, alongside Robles and the US ambassador

Emilio Cassinello, former Spanish consul in New York, relives the tragedy of 9/11

Spain condemns Iranian attacks on a US base in Jordan