At the end of July, Ceuta experienced an unprecedented influx of migrants, with tens of thousands arriving within mere hours. New documents have revealed that the Spanish intelligence agency, CNI, had forewarned authorities about a potential "invasion by land and sea" targeting the North African enclave. This information comes from classified files recently released by the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid.
On July 29, just one day prior to this remarkable surge of migrants, the CNI alerted both the regional government in Ceuta and the Guardia Civil police unit about calls circulating on social media encouraging individuals to cross the border the following day. According to these warnings, two groups associated with these calls had amassed approximately 180,000 followers. Additionally, another CNI communication indicated planned attempts to swim to Ceuta and scale the border fence. The CNI also informed Moroccan authorities about these developments, as revealed in the newly released documents.
More than a month after the initial surge, tens of thousands of individuals have taken to the streets. On July 30 and 31, government reports indicated that up to 80,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta from Morocco. While most returned to Morocco shortly after, thousands remain in the Spanish enclave. The government has disclosed around 40 documents from the period between July 1 and August 1.
According to Sánchez, the release of these documents aims to demonstrate that the government had not been warned of the magnitude of the impending arrival. Neither the government nor the opposition has issued a statement regarding the new disclosures. Although the social media calls were acknowledged, they "in no way represented an indicator of the scale, nature, or likelihood of what transpired afterward, nor could they be interpreted as such." The CNI reportedly communicated this information only through brief messages and phone calls, without issuing a broader warning to, for instance, the Ministry of Defense.
As reported by tagesschau.de.
