General's Directive to Omit Morocco from Immigration Report
General Antonio Peláez Piñeiro, who heads the Information Department of the Civil Guard, has reportedly instructed officials responsible for compiling a report on the entry of over 70,000 immigrants into Ceuta on July 30 and 31 to exclude any references to Morocco and its involvement in the events. Sources from within the unit, familiar with the matter and present during a meeting last week, revealed to EL ESPAÑOL that the general explicitly communicated this directive to the entire team preparing the dossier that was sent to the National Court. This incident occurred shortly after the publication of an exclusive report that had been compiled by the National Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) of the National Police, which disclosed evidence suggesting the active guidance provided by uniformed and plainclothes Moroccan gendarmes during the mass entry into Ceuta through the Tarajal breakwater.
On Tuesday, as the Civil Guard report requested by Judge María Tardón was still unsigned, General Peláez convened all members of the Central Special Unit 3 (UCE-3), a section dedicated to investigating national security matters and destabilizing elements within the state. During the meeting, he expressed that the Civil Guard did not wish for any leaks to occur and emphasized that they would not follow the same line as the National Police, ultimately asserting that the report submitted to the magistrate would not acknowledge Morocco's responsibility. This directive has left many agents bewildered, leading to discussions among colleagues regarding the unprecedented nature of this instruction.
Controversial Meeting and Altered Report
According to sources, the version of the report that the team had been working on for the previous month was well advanced and contained data similar to that of the National Police report, which pointed to the involvement of Moroccan agents. On the day of the invasion, members of the Information team observed through the Civil Guard's Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) the presence of Moroccan intelligence agents mingling among the immigrants. This detail, revealed by EL ESPAÑOL, was omitted from the document prepared for the judge, despite being gathered firsthand by UCE-3 personnel. Additionally, intelligence information received prior to July 30, which warned of a "massive entry," was also excluded.
The National Police, however, included this information in the dossier they submitted to the judge on Monday, presenting a total of 32 photographs of alleged Moroccan agents coordinating the immigrant influx into the autonomous city. After the meeting with the UCE-3, General Peláez reportedly went to the General Directorate of the Civil Guard in Madrid to meet with Lieutenant General Manuel Llamas, the acting operational director (DAO) of the Corps. This meeting is particularly significant as it was during this time that Peláez was expected to receive guidance on how the report should be drafted for the judge. Following this encounter, he returned to the Information Department and reconvened the team to relay what had been discussed with the DAO.
Sources familiar with the situation indicated that this gathering was characterized by what they termed "political instructions" received by the general prior to finalizing the report. Upon his return, the document underwent modifications, resulting in a final report of only five pages that lacked references to Morocco, which had been included in earlier drafts. The document was ultimately signed by General Peláez himself. Despite the controversy surrounding the report's contents, the Ministry of the Interior and the government have spent the week denying any claims made in the dossier regarding the involvement of Moroccan agents, asserting that no police report attributes the planning or execution of the events to Moroccan security forces.
As reported by elespanol.com.
