Spain Declassifies Warning to Morocco Before 70,000 Crossed Into Ceuta
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Spain Declassifies Warning to Morocco Before 70,000 Crossed Into Ceuta
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Summary
A declassified Spanish document shows the intelligence service alerted Morocco a day before about social media calls for migrants to enter Ceuta, ahead of the July 30 surge.
Pedro Sánchez ordered the release after a heated parliamentary session over who was responsible for the crossing, which killed 141 people and triggered a political crisis.
The papers also show Spanish intelligence warned a national government official in Ceuta, but they do not resolve the most explosive questions about Morocco’s role or its border guards’ failure to stop crossings.
Ceuta, a city of 84,000, still has at least 5,000 migrants after more than 90% were returned within 72 hours, with many housed in a beachside tent camp.
The episode has intensified pressure on Sánchez’s pro-immigration government as opposition parties call it an invasion and polls show most Spaniards blame Morocco.