In the end, Pedro Sánchez faced Parliament directly. More than a month after over 72,000 irregular Moroccan migrants entered the exclave of Ceuta en masse, the Spanish prime minister appeared before Congress to give an account of events. Once again he pointed the finger at “bulos,” the fake news spread on social media ahead of that unusual migratory wave, and at the far right, which he said exploited the situation to stoke hatred. The socialist leader said the European Commission itself had documented accounts and posts tied to Russian and pro-Israeli information networks, joined by figures from the international and Spanish far right looking to fan fear and hatred around the tragedy.
Sánchez confirmed that King Felipe will travel to Ceuta “in the coming weeks” and repeated that there is no concrete evidence of responsibility on the part of Moroccan authorities — even as a National Police report leaked this week pointed to complicity by Moroccan security agents in migrants’ entry into the autonomous city, without directly implicating Rabat’s government or its intelligence services. The premier did call “unacceptable” recent statements by Morocco’s justice minister, Abdellatif Ouahbi, who asserted Morocco’s historic and geographic claims to Ceuta and Melilla, as well as remarks by religious affairs minister Ahmed Tufiq describing a sacred struggle to liberate occupied cities.
Sánchez effectively admitted he is walking a tightrope to avoid a full-blown standoff with Morocco. He said he has to manage this crisis with rigor and caution, a line delivered amid jeers from the right-wing opposition. He denied the government had received any extraordinary warning before the mass crossing, while acknowledging that state institutions had noted a rise in arrivals to the autonomous city — a significant spike, he said, but far from unprecedented or exceptional.
He said the situation then changed radically and suddenly on the morning of July 30th, when social media was flooded with posts urging people to cross the border, often citing a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that they claimed barred so-called pushbacks. The Spanish paper El Mundo reports that Moroccan intelligence had in fact warned Spain of a possible border “invasion” at Ceuta through two separate reports: one on July 27th flagging a massive inflow of irregular migrants as highly likely for the 30th, and a second, from the National Police just before the wave hit, warning of an extreme risk of collapse requiring immediate use of force.
Sánchez rejected suggestions from the right that the government had been warned and deliberately ignored the situation, calling the idea absurd, and pointed instead to close coordination with Moroccan authorities that allowed more than 90% of the irregular migrants to be repatriated within 24 hours. He added that a person cannot simply be grabbed by the arm and thrown across a border like a sack of dirt. He called for greater engagement from Europe and a permanent Frontex presence in Ceuta, while cautioning that 100% security at those borders is impossible, since inequality and the search for opportunity lie behind them, and no wall, however high, will change that underlying reality.
On Wednesday, massive demonstrations took place across Spain in support of Ceuta and critical of the government’s handling of the crisis.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the centre-right Partido Popular and of the opposition, responded to Sánchez’s address in blistering terms, openly describing an “invasion,” accusing Morocco of triggering the crisis and accusing the premier of lying, telling him bluntly: “You knew.” He went on to ask why Sánchez was afraid of Morocco, argued Spain cannot have a prime minister under blackmail, and suggested that if Sánchez wants to keep vacationing, he should call elections instead. He closed by calling on him to resign, whether out of incompetence or complicity.
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, was even harsher, calling Sánchez a traitor outright.
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