Spain's intelligence warned Ceuta authorities before mass crossing

Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI) warned Moroccan authorities and local officials in Ceuta on July 29 about social‑media calls encouraging people to cross into the Spanish enclave in North Africa, according to recently released government documents. The papers were published amid criticism that Madrid had not fully shared information about the sudden influx.

The CNI told Moroccan intelligence and Ceuta authorities that it had identified WhatsApp and Facebook groups urging people to enter the enclave by "swimming around the border fence." The intelligence service said those messages had reached roughly 180,000 people.

One of the circulated messages read: "Whoever wants to go, has one last chance on the Day of the Throne (July 30) at eight o'clock. The authorities (in Ceuta) will be focused on celebrations and parades during the holiday." The warning, the documents say, was issued on July 29.

Political fallout in Madrid

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has maintained that "The events could not be predicted." Opposition parties, however, argue the newly released papers contradict Sánchez and show intelligence services had warned about mobilisations in advance. In parliament Sánchez had earlier said there was "no information that could indicate the scale of the crisis we will suffer in the last days of July."

At least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, with the majority entering by swimming around the fence, the local mayor reported. The mayor also said at least 100 people lost their lives during the crossings. Most migrants subsequently returned to Morocco, but around 5,000 remained in makeshift shelters or sleeping on streets and beaches in Ceuta, contributing to unrest in the autonomous city.

Photo: Xemenendura / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)