Key facts
- Spanish intelligence warned of a mass migrant incursion into Ceuta days before the event.
- A WhatsApp message warned of a social media call for a mass crossing the day before the influx.
- The intelligence service alerted Moroccan counterparts to the planned incursion.
- The government claims the documents do not show the scale or probability of the event.
- Opposition parties accuse the government of lying and failing to prevent the surge.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's decision to declassify official files concerning the mass migrant surge into the North African enclave of Ceuta this summer has backfired, with the documents appearing to contradict the government's narrative.
According to papers released by Sánchez's office on Wednesday, Spanish intelligence services and security forces had issued multiple warnings about a potential mass incursion days before approximately 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta on July 30. One intelligence agent reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to the Government Delegation in Ceuta the day before the influx, stating that there was a social media call for a mass crossing and that the discussing groups had 180,000 followers.
Hours later, the intelligence service also sent an urgent message to its Moroccan counterparts, warning them of the planned incursion. The released documents also included 18 reports noting an increase in unauthorized entries earlier in the summer and a letter from the Civil Guard proposing border reinforcement.
Despite these revelations, the Spanish government maintains that the documents do not demonstrate that the scale, nature, or probability of the event could have been predicted. Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, the Government Delegate in Ceuta, downplayed the WhatsApp warnings, arguing they were not formal alerts as they were not relayed through official channels.
However, political groups across the spectrum have rejected the government's interpretation. Ester Muñoz, parliamentary spokesperson for the center-right People's Party, stated the files proved the government's failure to prevent the "invasion and the deaths" and called for snap elections. Francesc-Marc Álvaro, a lawmaker from Sánchez's ally, the Republican Left of Catalonia, described the decision to publish the contradictory documents as an "own goal," suggesting that in other democracies, someone would resign over such an issue.