Spanish Intelligence: Morocco Facilitated, Not Orchestrated, Ceuta Migrant Crisis

In the aftermath of the Ceuta migrant crisis, where over 60,000 migrants entered the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast by circumventing border controls, Spanish intelligence services have concluded that while the massive influx of people was not orchestrated by Morocco, the Moroccan authorities did facilitate their entry. Rabat's government reportedly capitalized on the international attention generated by the event, despite the tragic confirmation of 72 drownings at sea.

According to their analysis, as reported by El País, the surge of thousands of migrants—which had been steadily increasing before exploding on Thursday, July 30th, the day thousands simultaneously breached the borders, overwhelming the city of 85,000 inhabitants—originated from a false rumor spread on social media and messaging groups. This rumor was triggered by a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling stating that migrants arriving by swimming to Ceuta and Melilla could not be expelled without due process and required administrative procedures.

Consequently, thousands of Moroccans, primarily young men, believed they could remain in Spain without repatriation. However, this was not the case, and most returned to Morocco by crossing the land borders on foot a few days after entering the country by sea. A new physical barrier has since been installed at sea.

Thursday, July 30th, was also a public holiday in Morocco, the Throne Day, leading to minimal border surveillance, which was subsequently lifted entirely, allowing the crowds to pass.

Spanish intelligence services believe that Moroccan authorities were aware of the misinformation circulating on social media but did nothing to prevent it. They saw it as an opportunity to damage Spain's international image and its government, with whom they are in conflict on numerous fronts. These include Spain's stance on Western Sahara (Spain recently granted nationality to approximately 70,000 Sahrawis born under Spanish administration before 1976 and their first-degree descendants) and a recent agreement between Spain and Algeria, a political rival of Morocco. Some speculate that the undecided host city for the 2030 World Cup final, a joint bid between Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, could also be a reason for Morocco to exploit a political crisis in Spain, even at the cost of human lives among its own citizens.