The Spanish government was plunged into crisis on Wednesday after a leaked police report suggested Moroccan forces played a role in pushing migrants into Ceuta in an unprecedented border violation, putting Madrid on the defensive.
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Multiple media outlets, citing a law enforcement document, alleged Moroccan authorities helped push migrants by sea, acted “passively” and concluded that the mass influx of around 80,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave was not accidental.
The allegations have triggered a political frenzy, putting Spain’s Interior Ministry on the back foot.
The Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, under fire for his handling of Spain’s most serious national security breach in modern history, ordered police to clarify the claims, which directly contradict the government’s narrative.
A senior police official later denied that any report directly blaming Morocco exists, but the statement did little to calm tensions as the Sánchez government struggles to contain the crisis, with thousands of migrants still stranded in the city to the frustration of local residents.
Protests in support of Ceuta took place across Spain on Wednesday.
The war of leaks also indicates the Spanish interior ministry, one of the most politically sensitive government departments, seems to have lost control of a part of its police, looking to either embarrass the government or bring to light new information.
It is not uncommon for the Spanish government and opposition to accuse each other of “lawfare”, in reference to courts or police departments seen as politically aligned for partisan gains.
The question of how much the Spanish government knew in the hours prior is central to its political survival as Sánchez faces his most serious crisis to date ahead of an election in 2027.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo told reporters that the government “knew it — and covered it up.”
Serious consequences
Spain has not blamed Morocco, even after it described the dramatic events in Ceuta, where more than 150 people died at sea, as a violation of its territorial integrity while calling for solidarity from its European neighbours.
Instead, Madrid has pointed to false social media claims pegged to a court ruling and human traffickers as the principal drivers of the mass influx— a position echoed by the European Commission, which, even as the border collapsed, continued to describe Morocco as a “trusted partner” in tackling irregular migration.
A spokesperson for the European Commission refused to comment on the leaked report, describing it as a national matter.
Earlier this week, Sánchez also suggested that Russia and Israel played a role in amplifying disinformation. Spain and Israel have clashed over the war in Gaza.
Still, questions remain over how Moroccan authorities, who also patrol the border, failed to detect and break up the buildup of migrants along the border.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a former socialist justice minister and a member of the European parliament, told Euronews this week “it is only obvious, it couldn’t have happened without some overlooking by the Moroccan authorities.”
“That’s common sense. But the government has to act based on facts and evidence,” he told Euronews’ flagship show Europe Today.
Spanish ministers have given conflicting accounts of what they knew in the days prior and whether intelligence agencies had passed on critical information.
The issue is politically sensitive: any failure to act on warnings related to national security would amount to serious negligence and could fuel calls for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister and his government.
Ceuta ‘at breaking point’
Beyond the politics, the Spanish government is also facing serious operational difficulties on the ground in Ceuta, where around 5,000 migrants — about half of them understood to be minors — remain in the city. Local authorities put the figure closer to 10,000.
On Wednesday, Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas said the city was at breaking point, directly blaming Morocco and accusing Rabat of harassment.
“Morocco has had and continues to have an unwavering objective: to suffocate, harass and bring down our two cities,” he said, referring to Ceuta and its twin city, Melilla, also located in North Africa.
“I think no one doubts that what has happened to us is not a migration crisis. What has happened is that Spain’s territorial integrity has been violated.”
Vivas has demanded that all migrants be returned, describing this as the only way to restore normality in Ceuta. But Spanish authorities face a difficult balancing act.
Strict laws protecting minors prevent immediate returns, even if they crossed illegally, while local authorities have yet to facilitate public spaces for migrant identification, leading to more administrative delays.
Facing scrutiny from its European neighbours, Madrid has also pledged that the situation in Ceuta will not affect the Schengen area, which allows for free movement of people in the EU, but that is limiting its ability to transfer migrants to mainland Spain away from Ceuta to provide relief.
Faced with the complex situation, Spanish authorities have now requested assistance from Frontex, the EU agency responsible for the bloc’s external borders.
Moroccan authorities have argued that Spain’s mass regularisation plan announced earlier this year may have acted as an incentive for migrants to cross.
