Madrid (AFP) - The Spanish Ministry of the Interior denied on Wednesday the existence of a police report that concluded, according to information, that Morocco organized the influx of migrants to Ceuta in July, at a time when the government seeks to maintain its relations with Rabat despite the challenges it faces.
Published on: 02/09/2026 - 13:07 Last updated: 02/09/2026 - 18:05
More than 70,000 migrants entered the small Spanish enclave in North Africa on July 30 and 31, swimming or walking from neighboring Morocco, in an unprecedented influx that killed dozens of people.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Monday that Morocco was not responsible for the mass influx of migrants to Ceuta, accusing Israel, Russia and the far right of spreading misleading information about the incident.
But the online newspaper El Espanyol reported that the Spanish National Immigration and Border Center said the operation “took place under the guidance of Moroccan security forces... with an aim not related to immigration.”
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska asked the police to verify information regarding a report by a government body indicating a role for the Moroccan security forces, according to what sources in the ministry said on Wednesday.
Sources in the ministry said that Grande-Marlaska sent a letter to the National Police Commander, Francisco Pardo, requesting verification of this news, which the center reportedly sent to a judge collecting information regarding the incident.
The minister said in his letter, “Any information of this kind should have been made immediately available to the National Security Council... and to other competent bodies in this field,” according to the sources.
The sources added that Pardo informed Marlaska that “there is absolutely no police report attributing the Moroccan security forces to planning or carrying out what happened” in Ceuta.
Ceuta and Melilla, the other Spanish enclave in North Africa, have the European Union's only land borders with the continent, and their situation has historically been a source of tension in relations between Madrid and Rabat.
Morocco claims sovereignty over the two enclaves, while some analysts suggested that it had used the influx of migrants to exert political pressure on Spain, after Sanchez's visit in July to Algeria, Rabat's historical rival.
The disputed Western Sahara is a source of tension, as Morocco controls most of the territory of the former Spanish colony, which is claimed by the Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria and seeks its independence.
© 2026 AFP
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